Robert Smith denies that The Cure will play Qatar World Cup opening ceremony
The Cure are the latest act to deny that they are playing the Qatar World Cup – as criticism of those who have chosen to play events surrounding the football competition continue to face criticism.“Hate to disappoint everyone, but despite the rumours we will not be headlining the World Cup opening ceremony”, tweeted frontman Robert Smith yesterday.Covering any other questions people might have, he added: “I have also informed [England manager] Gareth Southgate [that] I am unavailable for selection. And if you’re interested, Psychic Bob predicts no one will win but Qatar”.At the weekend, Dua Lipa also denied rumours that she was due to play the opening ceremony, saying that she would not perform in Qatar at all until “it has fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup”.Rod Stewart, while not rumoured to play any World Cup events, has commented on other artists who have accepted the offer, saying that he turned down a lucrative opportunity to play in the Middle Eastern country last year, telling The Sunday Times: “I was actually offered a lot of money – over $1 million – to play there fifteen months ago.