Robbie Williams Set to Perform at the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

On the 14th of June, just a few moments before Russia and Saudi Arabia kick-start the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Robbie Williams will perform a live set to the crowd at the Luzhniki Stadium and the millions watching from across the globe. 

In addition, the celebrated Russian soprano Aida Garifullina will also join Robbie for a special, one-off duet during the performance.

Williams has admitted his excitement at the prospect, claiming: "I’m so happy and excited to be going back to Russia for such a unique performance. 

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"I’ve done a lot in my career, and opening the FIFA World Cup to 80,000 football fans in the stadium and many millions all over the world is a boyhood dream. We’d like to invite football and music fans to party with us in Russia, in the stadium, or to tune in their TVs a little earlier for an unforgettable show.”

Ronaldo (two-time winner of the FIFA World Cup with Brazil) will also appear at the opening ceremony.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony will have a slightly different format compared to previous editions of the tournament. This time, the ceremony will focus on musical acts and will take place much closer to kick-off, just half an hour before the start of the match, which is scheduled for 18:00 (local time).

However, this was not Williams' only involvement in football in recent times. On Sunday night, the former 'Take That' singer once again lead out the England team in the annual Soccer Aid for UNICEF match. The charity fundraising football event was co-founded by Robbie in 2006, and before Sunday night's clash had already raised over £24m for children in danger around the world.

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While the donations are still coming in from the most recent inception, it has reportedly already surpassed the total of all of their previous efforts over the years.

Robbie has just announced a string of South American live dates as part of The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour [more details at robbiewilliams.com]. He released the platinum-selling album of the same name in November 2016, which includes the singles ‘Party Like a Russian’ and ‘Love My Life’. It debuted at Number 1 on the UK album chart.