As we warm up to the FIFA World Cup 2022, here’s an update of who all will be performing during the soccer extravaganza, including some surprises from our very own B-town.

Mona

Three days to go…Five cities, 32 teams, 831 players…Doha, Qatar, is abuzz and why not! One of the world’s greatest sporting events — the FIFA World Cup 2022 — begins on November 20; a month of action leading up to the grand finale, scheduled for December 18, soccer fans can’t keep calm.

Amidst the excitement, there are clouds of disappointment too. After English singer Dua Lipa and British musician Rod Stewart reportedly cancelled their performances, citing human rights issues, there are shadows of uncertainly over Shakira’s guest appearance at the opening ceremony as well.

Who’s performing?

The star-studded opening at Al Khor’s Al Bayt Stadium on November 20 will sure be a big spectacle, with FIFA keeping the names of performers under wraps to add that surprise element. If Colombian singer Shakira, who has been quite a regular at FIFA, does not pull out, this would be her fourth outing at the opening ceremony in the history of FIFA World Cup. She has performed on Hips Don’t Lie in Germany, 2006; Waka Waka in South Africa, 2010; La La La with Carlinhos Brown in Brazil, 2014, before this.

BTS member and K-pop star Jungkook is set to perform at the opening ceremony. “Proud to announce that Jungkook is part of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Soundtrack and will perform at the World Cup opening ceremony. Stay tuned,” a BTS official on Twitter confirmed. English singer and songwriter Robbie Williams, another FIFA regular, should also be a part of the event.

Other big names set to perform include Sean Paul, Clean Bandit, Black Eyed Peas, Calvin Harris and Nigerian music sensation Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie, popularly known as Patoranking. FIFA World Cup 2022 Mascot — La’eeb (super-skilled player) — the figure of a white, smiling, soccer-playing headdress inspired by the keffiyeh, a traditional headgear worn by Arab men, would be a star in its own right!

Bollywood vibes

Canadian-Moroccan actor Nora Fatehi has been part of all female-FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 official soundtrack Light The Sky. She is featured alongside famous Arab singer and actors, including Balqees, Manal and Rahma Riad. Actor Ranveer Singh has also been invited to attend and represent India at the grand finale.

Monsoon Wedding musical

Filmmaker Mira Nair’s musical Monsoon Wedding will also be staged at the Qatar Creates’ cultural programme. The New York based-Indian filmmaker shared a picture of the stage with a caption, “Behold the Monsoon Wedding logo created for the screen 20 years ago…Heralding the premiere of Monsoon Wedding, our musical opening next week in Doha! Come one, come all, come to the rainy ball.”

Mira’s Monsoon Wedding is a 2001 film starring Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah and Vasundhara Das, and the musical on the same took five years to take shape. Apart from three hit songs which were part of the original film, the musical has songs composed by Vishal Bharadwaj. It will be performed till November 26.

Big party

English singer and songwriter Dua Lipa was scheduled to be a part of the opening ceremony, but in a statement posted on her Instagram Story, the Blow Your Mind (Mwah) hit-maker denied it, “I will not be performing and have not been involved in any negotiation to perform. I will be cheering England team from afar and look forward to visiting Qatar, when it has fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup.”

British rock and pop singer-songwriter Rod Stewart has claimed to have turned down a large pay-check to perform in Qatar, a country that has come under fire for mistreatment of migrant labourer and declaring homosexuality as illegal. The ambassador of the Qatar World Cup, David Beckham, has been called out by the likes of comedian Joe Lycett and Spice Girl Melanie C to give up the association.

Important to Follow the rules

A huge football fan, model-actor Marc Robinson is extremely excited about the FIFA World Cup. As for FIFA host Qatar coming under fire for LGBTQ and human right violations, Marc says, “I am concerned about human rights violations in Qatar. As for LGBTQ+ rights, wherever you go you have to respect their culture and follow their laws. For this fiasco, FIFA has to take the blame. When they selected Qatar as the host, these concerns should have been addressed. If I go to Qatar, I am going to follow their laws, rules and regulations. I would do the same in India, Spain or America.”