Entertainment
Dua Lipa’s father was in talks with Qatari organisers over performance ahead of World Cup before withdrawing over country’s human rights issues-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro
Dua had no idea and recently said she has no plans to perform in Qatar.
Dua Lipa’s father was reportedly ‘keen’ to discuss a slot on the World Cup bill (Picture: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
Dua Lipa’s father was reportedly in talks with Qatari organisers ahead of the World Cup, despite the singer vehemently denying that she had plans to perform in Qatar.
The Don’t Start Now hitmaker was one of the big names rumoured to be taking to the stage in the Arab country for the tournament, thanks to the success of her Future Nostalgia era and, most likely, her footie anthem One Kiss.
However, the 27-year-old shut down reports, stating that she would not be heading to Qatar until human rights there improved.
Now, though, according to emails, it’s come to light her father was in contact with Qataris for two years, attempting to book her a slot on the bill.
According to documents obtained by the Mail on Sunday, the singer’s Kosovo-born father, Dukagjin Lipa, first reached out to Qatar’s World Cup organising body, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, in 2020.
Known as Dugi, the 53-year-old was seemingly ‘keen’ to arrange a discussion regarding his Grammy-winning daughter, which Dua had no idea about.
Dukagjin Lipa is married to Anesa Lipa and they share children Dua, Gjin, and Rina (Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for YSL Beauty)
‘I represent my daughter, the artist Dua Lipa, and I am keen to discuss with the Supreme Committee plans for artist performances for Qatar World Cup 2022,’ he supposedly wrote on March 9 that year.
In a second email sent in January 2021, the father-of-three reportedly wrote: ‘I just wanted to follow up on my previous email and was wondering whether it would be possible for us to discuss any opportunity arising where we can be of help?’
Dugi, who runs communications agency Republika, continued: ‘We recently streamed a live performance of tracks from Dua’s new album as well as appearances by other artists which had five million viewers, which was the largest ever globally for a live-stream event.’
The singer vehemently denied reports that she was in talks to perform in Qatar (Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)
It’s said that a committee member replied: ‘It is fantastic to hear from you and know that with Dua being put forward it is backed by the knowledge that she is also interested.’
But, come April last year, he had anxieties surrounding the gig, reportedly saying: ‘I was approached… with a specific request for Dua Lipa and the opening ceremony and I wanted to touch base with you regarding this and making sure that we are not talking to the wrong person.’
The emails follow Dua’s own powerful statement in which she called out Qatar for its lack of protections for certain communities.
Homosexuality is currently illegal in Qatar and punishable by imprisonment. The country also has a lack of rights for women and over 6,000 migrant workers have died since Qatar was awarded the role of hosting the World Cup.
Dua wants human rights to improve in Qatar before she performs there (Picture: Chris Putnam/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Clearing up the rumours last month, Dua wrote on social media that she was never involved in any discussions about performing.
‘There is currently a lot of speculation that I will be performing at the opening ceremony of the world cup in Qatar,’ she began.
‘I will not be performing and nor have I ever been involved in any negotiation to perform.’
She continued on her Instagram Story: ‘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 One Kiss hitmaker issued a powerful statement on social media last month (Picture: Instagram)
‘One love, Dua x’, the singer signed off.
Dugi has since come out and echoed that his daughter did not know about his communications with Qatari organisers and clarified his reasoning for withdrawing.
‘In 2020 I had several email exchanges with the Qatari World Cup marketing team in my personal capacity as a festival organiser,’ he said.
‘Dua was not involved or aware of those exchanges or any other conversations. When I introduced myself, I gave them my full background which included my representation of Dua. But I clarified that I was not speaking to them with her in mind and made that very clear when they asked me whether my enquiries were about Dua.
Jung Kook of BTS received backlash for performing at the World Cup’s opening ceremony (Picture: Michael Regan – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
‘This was in early 2021, at a time when Qatar had made several pledges (since winning the World Cup contract) to reform their labour laws and make amends to their human rights record.
‘As the conversation went on and the World Cup got closer, it became very clear that these pledges were not going to be honoured so I stopped talking to them. Since then I have been approached by several people connected with the Qatar World Cup to who I made very clear that Dua would not be involved with them.’
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Those who have headed to Qatar and signed deals with the host country have come under great scrutiny, most notably David Beckham, who has been called out for signing a multi-million-pound deal to be the ambassador.
South Korean pop singer Jung Kook of K-pop boyband BTS also headlined the opening ceremony, with actor Morgan Freeman making a surprise appearance at Qatar’s Al Bayt Stadium to narrate.
Dua Lipa’s reps have been contacted for comment.
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