Doha: With only seven days to go until the FIFA World Cup 2022 to kick off in Qatar, excitement is mounting across the country over the grand opening ceremony of the much-anticipated event.
What is even more interesting and tempting is the expected list of artists who will attend the opening ceremony of the biggest football tournament in the world.
There has been speculation about the star-studded FIFA World Cup squad line-up, with little or no confirmation from officials or the celebrities themselves.
Bollywood superstar Nora Fatehi, English singer Dua Lipa , and Colombian wonder Shakira are expected to be among the performers during the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony— which will take place on November 20 at the 60,000-capacity Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, 35 km north of Doha, one of the seven venues built for the tournament.
Nora Fatehi
Canadian and Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi, who gained fame with her work in the Hindi film industry, also appeared in the 2022 FIFA World Cup soundtrack ‘Light The Sky’.
Shakira
The famed ‘Waka waka’ singer will return for yet another Fifa World Cup performance.
This will be her fourth time performing at the tournament, following her exemplary performances which were: ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ in Germany, 2006; ‘Waka Waka in South Africa, 2010; La La La with Carlinhos Brown in Brazil, 2014.
Dua Lipa
The sensational pop singer Dua Lipa is also expected to perform at the star-studded night.
Jungkook
K-pop star and BTS member Jungkook will also be part of the opening ceremony.
“Proud to announce that Jung Kook is part of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Soundtrack & will perform at the World Cup opening ceremony. Stay tuned!” wrote the BTS official handle on the social media platform Twitter.
Black Eyed Peas, J Balvin and Nigerian music sensation Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie are among the other artists to perform at the opening ceremony. However, FIFA is yet to confirm the list of performers for the event.
The World Cup is scheduled to be held from November 20 to December 18, with the participation of 32 teams, before the number of those teams will be increased to 48 starting from the 2026 edition.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 opening ceremony will begin at 7 pm IST with the inaugural fixture between Qatar and Ecuador to kick-off at 9:30 pm IST.
The matches will be broadcast on the new Sports18 and Sports18 HD for cable and set-top-box TV viewers. The channels will have English and Hindi feeds.
