Robbie Williams to perform at World Cup opener

English singer, songwriter and actor Robbie Williams will be part of the World Cup opening ceremony on Thursday, it has been confirmed.

The singer will be joined by Russian soprano Aida Garifullina as the pair take to the stage 30 minutes before Russia and Saudi Arabia kick off the tournament.

I’m so happy and excited to be going back to Russia for such a unique performance,” Williams told the Mirror.

“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.”

Garifullina added: “I never imagined I would be part of this huge celebration, the World Cup, happening in my own country. The image that I will be presenting to the whole world will be very symbolic and associated with a dream coming to life.”

Russia and Saudi Arabia, which kicks off at 4pm BST, is the only game taking place on Thursday.

It has been claimed that Williams has sold more albums in the UK than any other British solo artist in history and has won more BRIT Awards than any other artist to date. His records sales reportedly stand at over 77 million worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. Williams was entered in The Guinness Book of World Records when, after he announced his World Tour for 2006, with  1.6 million tickets were sold in one day.

He has been presented many awards, including seventeen BRIT and eight ECHO awards. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, after being voted as the greatest artist of the 1990s.