Robbie Williams will perform at the World Cup opening ceremony in Moscow. The singer has been named as the headliner for the ceremony, which will take place at the Luzhniki Stadium on Thursday. Williams will perform along with Aida Garifullina, a revered Russian soprano.

Robbie is a rather controversial choice for the opening ceremony. In 2016, he caused an uproar for his single ‘Party Like a Russian’. The song samples ‘Montagues and Capulets’, a classical work by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. In the lyrics, the song seemed to take aim at Russian oligarchs. “It takes a certain kind of man with a certain reputation, to alleviate the cash from a whole entire nation”, Williams sings. Other lyrics include “Ain't no refutin' or disputin' – I'm a modern Rasputin”. However, Robbie denied that this referred to Vladimir Putin.

The song was criticised by Russian media outlets. Speaking with Life News, Sergey Knyazav (of the National Association of Event Organizers) said “this will upset those who previously wanted him to perform, who brought him to Moscow, or wanted him to perform at their events abroad”. Other outlets called Robbie song “offensive”, according to BBC News. Williams was previously booked to perform for billionaire Alisher Usmanov, at a party in St Petersburg