Qatar is preparing for what will be one of the most important days of the FIFA World Cup. The organization of the Opening Ceremony has had several ups and downs regarding which artists would perform. Shakira and Dua Lipa were the first to drop out, followed by JBalvin. That's when Maluma came into play, but for the Fan Fest.
Several figures have already been confirmed but the fact of how the opening will be is still a mystery. The population of the Persian Gulf state has increased in recent times, due to the fact that they wanted to hire more foreigners in order to meet the needs of all those who were going to participate in the most awaited soccer event.
There will be up to four matches per day during the first stage and they will be staggered throughout the day. The only matches that may overlap will be those played on the last day of the group stage, due to competitive integrity. In case you want to prepare for the preview, you can make your prediction here.
Maluma to perform at the FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony
Maluma said yes and will be performing with Nicki Minaj, Black Eyed Peas, Jungbook and other great international artists in the Fan Fest. The 28-year-old Colombian singer is already in Doha and presented an official song of the 2022 World Cup, called Tukoh Taka.
FIFA shared the music video clip on its YouTube account and the artist can be seen sharing the stage with Minaj and Myriam Fares. It contains verses in Spanish, English and Arabic.
His presence has brought a lot of controversy, due to the criticism in relation to human rights that his colleagues have installed. However, he assured that he is living the dream and that he respects everyone's opinion. "Everyone has their own opinion and way of thinking, for me this is very important, I dreamed of this all my life, to be part of the official Fifa song for a World Cup", he said.
He has always emphasized how fanatic he is of soccer and said "I always dreamed of this and today I am getting it, it is an opportunity that I was not going to miss. I was invited to Qatar to sing in the World Cup. Colombia is not coming to the event, but I had to come to represent my culture".
Maluma walked out of an interview about the World Cup Opening Ceremony
Just hours before the start of the event, Maluma has been involved in a new controversy after leaving an interview. The singer experienced a tense situation when he was talking to a journalist. The interviewer questioned him for participating in the opening ceremony despite the denunciations received by Qatar for repeatedly violating human rights.
Moav Vardi, a journalist from the Israeli channel Kan, asked him "You know what I have to ask you, Shakira and Dua Lipa refused to take part in this World Cup because of Qatar's bad human rights record and obviously people think, Maluma, don't you have a problem with the violation of human rights in this country?".
The Colombian superstar was not amused by this and replied, "Yes, but it's something I can't solve. I just came here to enjoy life, enjoy soccer and the soccer party. It's not something I really have to get involved in. I'm here enjoying my music and the beautiful life, playing soccer as well".
But it didn't end there, as after some accusatory questions, Maluma called the reporter rude and left the studio, saying he didn't have to answer those kinds of questions. This has caused the criticism to increase exponentially, so he will be in the public eye for a while.
