WORLD CUP CLOSING CEREMONY. The closing ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup took place this Sunday, December 18, 2022, in Qatar.
[Updated December 19, 2022 at 11:09 a.m.] Shakira or Rihanna had been announced… But the closing ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar, like that of its opening, did not live up to expectations. The only artists on stage, Sunday, December 18 at the Lusail stadium: rapper Gims, Qatari singer Aisha, American Davido, Puerto Rican artist Ozuna, Canadian-Moroccan singer and dancer Nora Fatehi, Emirati singer Balqees, l Iraqi artist Rahma Riad and Moroccan Manal.
We are far from the international artists expected for this show, which lasted about ten minutes before the final match, between Argentina and France. On the scenography side, to accompany the artists, we will note the 32 balloons representing the 32 teams to have participated in this World Cup, but also a whale and flying dolphins, the same as during the last concerts of Julien Doré, who, we are sure, will appreciate the rapprochement (or not).
The Franco-Congolese rapper Gims sang in Doha on Sunday December 18. A presence that had aroused many criticisms, as this World Cup in Qatar is controversial, pushing the artist to justify himself. “This deal, FIFA offered it to me a little over two years ago. We are in a somewhat special setting, it is confinement. We are deprived of freedom (…). We are talking about the Cup du Monde, we are talking about singing in front of billions of viewers. It cannot be refused. I am a singer, “he explained on France Inter on December 1 on Sonia Devillers’ show.
In addition to performing at the closing ceremony of the world, Gims had signed one of the two anthems of the event: the song Arhbo, in duet with Puerto Rican star Ozuna, whose presence had also been confirmed by FIFA. before the event, reports the American site Billboard. Note that the Nigerian-American musician Davido also sang a World Cup anthem in Qatar during the closing ceremony, the song Hayya Hayya (Better Together).
Morgan Freeman and BTS (or almost): The opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar was far from the rain of artists announced before the event. Sunday, November 20, at the Al-Bayt stadium in Al-Khor, located north of Doha, opened this controversial world. On stage, spectators and viewers were able to applaud American actor Morgan Freeman, who came with a message of “respect and inclusion.” On the music side, neither Shakira nor Dua Lipa, as rumors had it, but simply a member of the South Korean K-Pop phenomenon group, Jungkook, who covered the hit Dreamers, alongside Qatari artist Fahad Al- Kubaisi.
Before the start of the World Cup, the Gulf State had announced a (long) list of artists, to perform throughout the competition. Also, Robbie Williams (already present at the opening ceremony of the world in Russia in 2018), should give a concert at the Doha Golf Club, in Qatar, on December 8. Other heavyweights in the international music industry to have said yes (according to Worlds organizers): The Black Eyed Peas, David Guetta, Maroon 5, J Balvin, Post Malone and Enrique Iglesias. So many guests at the service of an “unforgettable festival combining football and entertainment”, as announced by Nasser Al Khater, the General Manager of the 2022 World Cup one month before its kick-off.
Despite the polemics and controversies around this World Cup in Qatar, several French and international artists had accepted the invitation to perform from the Gulf State during what they called the “FIFA Fan Festival”. Here is the program that was announced on the official website of the 2022 World Cup:
The weeks preceding the start of the World Cup, many rumors announced the arrival in Qatar of several artists, in particular Shakira or Dua Lipa. But on social networks, the British singer strongly denied, explaining that she “can’t wait to go to Qatar when he has fulfilled all the human rights commitments he has made.”
For his part, Rod Stewart, legendary singer of English rock, had declared to the Sunday Times: “I was offered a lot of money, more than a million dollars, to play there (in Qatar) ago 15 months. I turned it down. It’s not right to go.” Same story for Shakira, who had pinned the World Cup and its host country on its carbon footprint. “I don’t think anyone has the luxury of saying, ‘Oh no, I’m not going to take part in this cause,'” the singer told Gala UK magazine of the ecology.
