Dua Lipa denies reports she will perform at World Cup – and hits out at Qatar’s human rights record

Dua Lipa has denied reports she will be performing at the World Cup opening ceremony, saying she will only visit host nation Qatar when it improves its record on human rights.

The 27-year-old pop singer made a statement on Instagram stories after she had been linked to a performance at the opening ceremony next week.

She wrote: “There is currently a lot of speculation that I will be performing at the opening ceremony of the world cup in Qatar.

“I will not be performing and nor have I ever been involved in any negotiation to perform.

“I will be cheering England on from afar and I 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.”

The singer is currently in Australia as part of her 10-month Future Nostalgia tour.

It comes after FIFA urged nations to focus on football at the World Cup, despite concerns over attitudes towards LGBTQ fans and the treatment of migrant workers.

In a 75-page report released this week, London-based rights group Equidem said migrant labourers who built Qatar’s World Cup stadiums were subjected to discrimination and long hours under harsh conditions, as well as wage theft and other abuses as their employers evaded accountability.

Qatar has enacted a number of labour reforms in recent years following heavy international scrutiny, which has been praised by Equidem and other rights groups, but advocates say abuses are still widespread.

However, Qatar has denied these accusations and has repeatedly rejected allegations that the safety and health of 30,000 workers who built the World Cup infrastructure have been jeopardised.

Ambet E Yuson, general secretary of the Building and Wood Workers’ International union, said migrant workers involved in World Cup construction projects have had better protection – though the same cannot be said for other workers in Qatar.

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“Employers, often with impunity, continue to defy the law and breach the human rights of migrant workers. With the tournament approaching, progress on universal human rights standard has become urgent,” Mr Yuson said.

In October, several French cities including Paris will not broadcast World Cup matches on giant screens in public fan zones amid concerns over rights violations of migrant workers and the environmental impact of the tournament in Qatar.