In South Africa in 2010, it was Hugh Masekela and Femi Kuti who, along with hundreds of other performers, gave the audience a 40-minute show. In 2014 in Brazil, Claudia Lache, Jennifer Lopez and rapper Pitbull performed the official song of the event. And four years later in Russia, instead of the soprano Aida Garifulina, the show was probably stolen by Robbie Williams when, during his performance, he so indisputably raised his middle finger to the camera.

True, the opening ceremonies of the recent world championships are not always artistically remembered – they have a different function. However, the one that will take place tomorrow at 16:00. at Al-Beit Stadium in Qatar, shortly before the first match of the 22nd FIFA World Cup, it faces other challenges: several foreign artists turned down an invitation to participate in its program, criticizing the host country both for its authoritarian policies towards the LGBTQI community and and women as well as for the inhuman working conditions during the construction of stadiums, which led to the death of thousands of workers. FIFA, at the time of writing, has not announced the full list of singers who will be performing.

Some artists received considerable offers from the organization. Rod Stewart, according to his Sunday Times interview, was invited to sing for over a million dollars. The proposal was made about 15 months ago, and the singer immediately rejected it. “I shouldn’t go,” he explained in an interview, adding that the Iranian football team should also be banned from the tournament due to Iran’s arms trade with Russia.

With so many denials and rejections that come with this venture, it all feels like something out of Donald Trump’s inauguration.

British pop star Dua Lipa was not officially invited to perform at the opening ceremony, but there were rumors of her presence. She herself denied them by posting on social media, where she stressed that she would visit Qatar “after fulfilling all the human rights obligations that she assumed when she won the right to host the World Cup.”

A similar stance was taken by Shakira, who was originally scheduled to appear at the ceremony until last week she decided, according to relevant reports, not to get involved – she offered no further explanation. Melanie C of the Spice Girls said that given Qatar’s attitude towards the LGBTQ community, she would be “very uncomfortable” supporting the country, while The Cure’s Robert Smith dismissed the already bizarre rumors that his band wants to perform in Qatar, with a simple and rather ironic tweet whose hashtag was the phrase “bread and circuses.”

So, who will sing at the Al-Beit Stadium tonight? According to the BBC, Korean group BTS’s Jungkook and – the usual suspect – Robbie Williams have been “locked up” so far, while Reuters also mentions the Black Eyed Peas. Other media add Moroccan-born Nora Fatehi to the list, and somehow the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar, most likely, will not turn into a fiasco. However, given the many denials and rejections that accompany it, the whole project is somewhat reminiscent of the inauguration of Donald Trump, the organizers of which in 2017 received loud rejections from artists such as Elton John, Moby, The Beach Boys or even the B Street Band, a cover band Bruce Springsteen.

FIFA, for its part, is responding to the cultural and any other boycott of the World Cup with a serene call for everyone to focus on sport, not politics. He also proudly states on his website that the 22nd World Cup will be the first to feature an entire collection of songs instead of a single official song – kind of like this year’s World Cup soundtrack – which he describes as musical diversity. . The songs released so far are “Hayya Hayya” (performed by Trinidad Cardona, Davido and AISHA), “Light The Sky” (Nora Fatehi, Balkis, Rahma Riad, Manal) and “Arhbo” (Ozuna and GIMS). Their style ranges from r’n’b and reggae to African and Arabic music and new tracks are coming soon. “Bringing all these voices together,” the event’s main website says in relief, “this particular collection symbolizes how music and football can bring the world together.”