Dua Lipa responds to rumours, won’t perform at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar due to its stance on gay rights

Following rumours Dua Lipa was set to perform at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the pop star has announced why that’s definitely not going to happen.

The decision to host the football tournament in the Gulf state has caused deep controversy due to Qatar’s stance on homosexuality - which is illegal in the country - and even though 27-year-old Lipa was believed to be taking to the stage there later this month, she has explained that no such performance has ever been on the agenda.

She wrote on Instagram: “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.”

Dua Lipa addresses speculation about a performance in Qatar on her Instagram account. Photo / Instagram

The Levitating hitmaker went on to add that she will be “cheering” for England nonetheless but promised that she would never visit Qatar until officials have “fulfilled all human rights”.

She added: “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.”

Her comments come just days after England manager Gareth Southgate explained that his team will not be afraid to talk about human rights concerns at the World Cup.

FIFA has issued a plea to the 32 competing nations to “let football take the stage” at the tournament in Qatar but the Three Lions boss says it is “highly unlikely” that the team will adhere to the governing body’s request.

Gareth said: “We have always spoken about issues we think should be talked about, particularly the ones we feel we can affect. Contrary to one or two observations in the last few weeks, we have spoken in the same way other nations have spoken about this tournament, the human rights challenges. We’ve been very clear on our standpoint on that.

“So, look I think we would like to focus primarily on the football. For every player, every coach and everybody travelling to a World Cup, this is a carnival of football. So regarding the LGBT community, we stand for inclusivity and we are very, very strong on that. We think that is important in terms of all our supporters. We understand the challenges this tournament brings within that, If it wasn’t for the strength of that community, we wouldn’t be women’s European champions. So it’s very, very important to us.”