host city

Tag: sustainability

  • The moveable feast

    The moveable feast

    “Nothing had really been done on this scale before,” Tom Jones, principal of Populous, the practice that designed London 2012’s temporary venues, told delegates at International Sport Event Management Conference in London.

    “There was a significant amount of temporary venue work going on at golf championships, temporary music festivals and those sorts of things, but this was quite unique.”

    London 2012’s venue masterplan was not just unique; it was nothing short of revolutionary. Historically, the majority of Olympic Games venues would be built to last, but designed with the requirements of the short-term event in mind. This meant a relatively small amount of temporary overlay was required; it also resulted in a legacy of underused venues.

    London 2012 subverted this norm. Only six of London 2012’s venues were new and permanent. The remainder consisted of existing world-class venues like Wembley Stadium, Wimbledon and Lords, supplemented by more than 20 temporary venues.

    “We had a very high dependence on temporary structures because of the ‘no white elephants’ approach – not building where there was no legacy use,” explains James Bulley, CEO of Trivandi and former director of venues and infrastructure at the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).

    While this was clearly a revolution in terms of sustainability, it transferred huge responsibility onto the organising committee. “London delivered more temporary structures that Sydney, Athens and Beijing put together. That is a big shift; it puts massive onus on the organising committee to deliver substantial temporary structures.”

    LOCOG delivered more than 250,000 temporary seats for the London Games, all of which now have been taken down. A 23,000 seat arena was built in Greenwich Park for the equestrian events, plus a 15,000 seat arena in Horse Guards. The basketball arena in the Olympic Park was also completely temporary.

    While temporary overlay traditionally fell under the watch of the organising committee, it tended to be a much smaller project. Major infrastructure works would be handled by a separate authority, while the organising committee would focus primarily on selling tickets, running the sports events and overall operations.

    In the case of London 2012, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) delivered the permanent structures, but LOCOG also had a major build on its hands. According to Bulley, “it became very much focused and dependent on the very high risk elements of delivering construction.”

    He questioned whether the split of work was reasonable. “We had the ODA delivering the permanent construction. Should they also have taken on the temporary construction? When you are looking at a city delivering immense infrastructure on this scale, whether that sits within the organising committee or outside it is something that should be thought through.”

    The temporary nature of the structures meant that they had to be built quickly, and the elements were not on LOCOG’s side in the weeks running up to London 2012. “One of the key challenges was delivering temporary structures in greenfield sites in torrential weather,” said Bulley.

    It wasn’t just the organising committee that was under strain. The temporary event commodity market was under pressure to deliver seats, tents, cabins, fences, temporary power supplies, barriers and much more.

    “Under extreme pressure, the event supplier commodity market had to deliver huge amounts of infrastructure, which it perhaps wasn’t geared up to do so at the volume at which we needed to do it.”

    Nonetheless, London 2012 raised the bar and the result is a faster, higher and stronger temporary infrastructure sector. Bulley points to advances in the seating industry in particular.

    “We put in new standards for designs, because the market couldn’t supply what we were looking to achieve. A lot of the seating in London 2012 was new; it was manufactured for the event. We set new standards for safety and comfort, for example the 800mm seat-row depth, rather than the 720mm which you sometimes see in temporary stands.”

    Jones adds: “We were keen to make the experience of going to a temporary venue as close as going to a permanent venue as possible, both in terms of comfort and quality.”

    London 2012 also pushed the envelope when it came to sports surfaces. “We worked incredibly hard with the governing bodies and sports surface companies to deliver the fastest possible tracks and highest quality fields of play,” said Bulley.

    Despite the large volumes and short timeframes, the local industry responded well to these demands. Bulley questions whether mega events in the immediate future will have the same resources to hand. “We had a very sophisticated event supply industry within Europe to tap into. For Brazil, it’s much more challenging.”

    The big scale-down
    Some of the permanent venues also had temporary aspects to them, with modular construction techniques being deployed to make them scalable. For example, the two “wings” that were plugged in to the aquatics centre to provide extra capacity during the Games are now being removed to leave the 1,500 to 2,000-seat community pool, in line with legacy plans.

    Jones said: “The reduction in size of the aquatic centre, the opening of the copper box have all pretty much followed plan. The Olympic stadium is clearly different.”

    The 80,000 seat stadium used in Games time was originally planned to be reduced to 25,000 seats, with a permanent athletics track. Bulley said: “We went to the market and said would a Premiership football club be prepared to take the stadium on? That was not the case at the time, so we followed the athletics legacy.”

    After much wrangling, the stadium has been determined as the home ground of West Ham United. Having a top flight football club as a tenant will help to ensure regular custom in the Queen Elizabeth Park, as the Olympic Park will be known. “If you can retain it as a large facility it’s a much preferable solution,” said Bulley.

    However, it does necessitate major changes. “We are managing to keep a significant amount of the structure,” said Jones. “When we were doing the original design we were trying to keep as much flexibility as possible. But clearly if the legacy use changes, then that is going to create challenges afterwards.”

    These challenges include removing seating in the lower tier and extending the roof. The promise of an athletics legacy is also being honoured alongside the West Ham tenancy. “As the Olympic stadium, it will have to serve other uses than football,” said Bulley.

    The revised designs for the stadium include a retractable lower tier that reveals will reveal the athletics track for events such as the World Athletics Championships, which the venue will host in 2017.

  • Qatar stadium build steps up with major congress

    Qatar stadium build steps up with major congress

    As Qatar’s preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup enter the construction phase, the World Stadium Congress brings architects, solutions providers and stadium operations consultants to Doha on 19th May 2014. 
    This year’s World Stadium Congress, organised by IQPC, will focus on stadium design, sustainability and construction challenges. 
    ASTAD Project Management’s H.E. Ali Bin Nasser Al Khalifa and SPOR SANAYI’s Yasar Meral will open the first day of the conference with keynotes on world-class sporting infrastructure. 
    H.E. Ali Bin Nasser will provide an insight into the highly anticipated FIFA World Cup in Qatar in a session titled “Delivering world-class infrastructure to support Qatar 2022.”
    “Exceptional project management will play a critical role in the delivering a memorable mega-event,” said H.E. Ali Bin Nasser. 
    “We will draw from ASTAD’s significant experience building sports facilities in Qatar, but it is also important for senior stakeholders within the industry to share their expertise and knowledge so that we may identify solutions to common challenges and ensure continuous improvement in design and construction.”
    Tariq Al Abudulla, General Manager of the Qatar Olympic Academy and Head of Technical Affairs at the Qatar Olympic Committee, will follow with a keynote address on Day Two, laying out the Qatar Olympic Academy’s unique Sport Venue Management programme.
    Other speakers include Jon Sellins, head of business development consultancy at Wembley Stadium, who will draw from the Champions League Final 2013 to convey best practices in hosting and facilitating major sporting events.
    Sustainability is the keyword at this year’s conference. “It is important to us that the lasting impact of our stadiums on the community is a positive one,” said Diogo Taddei, architecture manager at AECOM, Brazil. 
    “In designing the sporting and non-competition facilities for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, we took Rio’s and Brazil’s sporting ambitions into account and focused on the provision of a cost-efficient design for permanent and temporary venues. The legacy conversion plan cannot be overlooked.”
    Dan Meis, global director of sport at Woods Bagot, will also discuss stadium legacy and community integration, showcasing AS Roma’s new €700m stadium as a mixed-use sports and entertainment destination.
    “Given the number of stadiums that are being contemplated for the region, it is very important to discuss how we can ensure that these venues continue to benefit the community beyond the tournaments for which they were built,” he said.
    The congress will also feature panels, case studies and roundtable discussions. Meis, Taddei, Mark Fenwick of RFA Irribarren Architects, and Markus Pfisterer, director of GMP Architekten, will sit on a panel on trends in stadium design. 
    J Parrish, Director of Global Sports, AECOM, UK, event chair Paul Hyett of HKS Architects will also feature in roundtable discussions, along with representatives from Honeywell and Grundfos.
    This year’s World Stadium Congress will host a financial perspective for the first time. Nermine Nassif Girgis Ishak, Head of Corporate Banking at Al Khaliji Commercial Bank will deliver a talk entitled “Financing growth and capitalising on development opportunities,” an examination of opportunities in the Qatar projects market for local and international players.
     

  • The world’s most sustainable stadiums

    The world’s most sustainable stadiums

    Sustainable construction has not historically been a leading concern when developers confront the challenge of erecting an arena from scratch to a pressing deadline. But gradually the green agenda has gained ground in the list of key considerations for hosting sporting events, while some leading clubs have also developed environmental awareness.
    The US has been the trailblazer, with many of the biggest names in American sport now belonging to the Green Sports Alliance, a non-profit organisation that helps members enhance their environmental performance.
    Founded in 2011 by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s investment company Vulcan, the alliance now has 125 venues, 105 teams and seven leagues as members.
    As identified in the NRDC’s “Game Changer” report, greener stadiums not only benefit the environment and cut utility bills but also have potential to improve community ties, attract corporate sponsors and can boost the local economy.
    We can expect even greater commitment to sustainability from big sports clubs globally in the coming years. The current issue of HOST CITY magazine looks at three stadiums that set standards for other developers to aspire to.
     
    1: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US
    This is the only stadium in the National Football League (NFL) that is home to more than one club. But the energy savings it has achieved since opening in April 2010 go far beyond the benefits derived from the ground-sharing arrangement between the New York Giants and New York Jets.
    Find out more in the current issue of HOST CITY magazine.
     
    2: Estádio Nacional, Brasilia
    Few stadiums globally have earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design [LEED] awards of any level from the US-based Green Building Council.
    Now, this US$640m stadium in Brazil’s capital is ready not only to host seven matches in the World Cup but to seek the highest LEED rating available: platinum.
    Find out more in the current issue of HOST CITY magazine.
     
    3: Marlins Park, Miami
    The 37,442 capacity stadium became the first in Major League Baseball to achieve LEED gold certification for new construction in 2012, surpassing Miami Marlins’ initial ambition of achieving silver.
    Find out more in the current issue of HOST CITY magazine.

  • Brazil World Cup produces more solar power than many countries

    Brazil World Cup produces more solar power than many countries

    The Estádio Nacional in Brasilia produces more solar energy than 11 countries competing in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, according to a report by UK non-governmental organisation Practical Action. 
    The solar production of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Iran, Ivory Coast and Uruguay all fall below the 2.5 MW capability of the stadium in Brazil’s capital. 
    Ghana’s national solar capacity matches that of the stadium, which will host seven matches during the world’s largest single sport event.
    Three other World Cup stadiums also have major solar power installations, the Mineirão in Belo Horizonte producing 1.4MW, the Itaipava Arena in Pernambuco producing 1MW and the rebuilt Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro producing 500KW. 
    These observations were reported by Practical Action on Wednesday, on the back of their new Poor Peoples’ Energy Outlook report.
    Simon Trace, CEO of Practical Action said: “The organisers and FIFA are to be congratulated for making a considerable financial investment and making this the greenest World Cup in history.”
    The Estádio Nacional in Brasilia cost US$640m stadium, making it one of the most expensive stadiums in history and starkly contrasting with the economic situation of many of the competing nations.
    “It is.. an indictment of the investment in renewable energy in the developing world that there are ten competing countries that do not even produce as much solar energy as a single World Cup stadium,” said Trace.
    “Currently more than one billion people live without access to reliable sources of energy. Without that, people cannot develop and there will always be a substantial proportion of the world’s population living in poverty.
    “Our report found that the only way of reaching the vast majority of these populations is not via traditional grid-based electrification as found in the west, but via smaller scale, renewable off-grid solutions such as solar, hydro and wind.
    “It is therefore vital that we follow the example set by the World Cup organisers and invest heavily in the new technology we are seeing used so well in Brazil.” 

  • Arena Group’s export growth hits Sunday Times list

    Arena Group’s export growth hits Sunday Times list

    A company that provided took its temporary seating solutions from London 2012 to the Brazil 2014 World Cup is one of the UK’s top exporters, according to research conducted by Richard Branson’s Fast Track agency for the Sunday Times. 
    Arena Group began showcasing its innovative temporary seating systems in HOST CITY magazine in the run-up to London 2012, where it built the Populous-designed beach volleyball arena and provided seating for the weightlifting, boxing, fencing, table tennis and judo events. 
    For the Brazil 2014 World Cup, Arena Group supplied two 9,000+ seat demountable grandstands for the Arena do Sao Paulo – the largest temporary structures in Brazil. Through a local partnership, it also installed seats for Salvador’s World Cup stadium.
    “The ranking is testament to the vision that we’ve had for the company since long before the London 2012 Olympics; to become a trusted, global provider of event overlay services and the highest quality temporary event infrastructure,” said Greg Lawless, CEO of Arena Group. 
    “This international growth has been a fundamental part of the group’s strategic plan, and we have made acquisitions which have positioned us to secure contracts for the next generation of major international sporting events.”
    Arena Group’s  two year average international sales growth reached 54 per cent, with international sales reaching £10.5m in 2012. The company is also the official overlay and temporary structures provider to Glasgow 2014.
    HOST CITY has been profiling London 2012’s quiet revolution in the temporary overlay for many years, through interviews with the organising committee and its key suppliers in this area, including Arena Group and Populous.
    “We would like to congratulate Arena Group on making the upper reaches of the International Track 200,”said Ben Avison, editor of HOST CITY magazine.
    “It has been gratifying to see these temporary seating solutions being taken up by the organisers of the 2014 World Cup and we look forward to seeing this positive trend continue in future sustainable mega events.” 

  • Arena Seating chosen for English FA’s national centre

    Arena Seating chosen for English FA’s national centre

    A modular solution from Arena Seating – part of global event supply company Arena Group – has been selected for St George’s Park, the English FA’s national football centre. 
    Five uncovered demountable grandstands, consisting of four tiers each, will be located along a covered, elevated walkway overlooking the elite training pitch and reconfigured as required by the venue’s event programme. 
    Speaking at Soccerex Global Convention in Manchester, Dave Withey, Arena UK & Europe’s sales and marketing director, said: “It will essentially be a permanent installation to begin with, but the modular nature of the system means that the grandstands can quickly and easily be reconfigured and moved elsewhere when needed; such as the indoor Futsal hall or any of the 12 outdoor pitches. 
    “St George’s Park hosts a variety of different events, in various locations across the site, so the ability to do this was a vital part of the FA’s brief. They can then be moved back to the elite training pitch, negating the need for any additional storage facilities.” 
     The grandstands will be installed on the 15th October by six crew in a single day. Arena Seating will train St George’s Park on how to reconfigure and extend the grandstand for larger events, using Arena’s rental stock.
    “There is no need for permanent construction work, making it extremely cost effective,” said Withey. “This is achieved without compromising on spectator comfort and viewing angles, which is very important for a world class facility like this.” 
    St George’s Park, based in Burton-upon-Trent in Staffordshire, is the preparation ground for all of the England national football teams and home to the FA’s coaching and development work. 
    Arena Group is exhibiting at Soccerex Global Convention at stand 219. The company will also be exhibiting at HOST CITY: BID TO WIN conference, which takes place in London on 28th October 2014. For more information visit www.bidtowin-hostcity.net

  • Lima mayor: cities will win fight against climate change

    Lima mayor: cities will win fight against climate change

    Cities are often seen as the problem rather than the solution when it comes to pollution – particularly in the rapidly developing world. But according to the mayor of Lima, which hosts global climate negotiations next week, cities are where global environmental challenges can be best tackled.
    “The challenge of supporting economic growth and tackling climate change will be met in the world’s cities,” said Susana Villarán, mayor of Lima, speaking on the publication of five studies by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate ahead of the Global Climate Change Conference in Lima.
    Lima, one of the fastest growing cities in Latin America with more than seven million inhabitants, is the focus on one of these studies. The city faces substantial increases in energy bills and more greenhouse gas emissions unless action is taken.
    The research conducted for the Global Commission shows that, through effective investments in transport, Lima can reduce its carbon emissions by 15 per cent by 2025 while saving citizens US$1.1bn per annum in energy bills. These investments could be paid back in less than three years, building on the improvements already implemented in the city. 
    “Investing in public transport is good for citizens, good for business and good for the climate,” said Villarán. “This study shows that it is in the economic interest of the city and of its people to build better. Clear leadership is now needed to make this vision a reality.”
    Lima is just one of many cities that can use transport upgrades to make a massive change to the world’s climate. According to the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, better, more efficient transport systems could enable the world’s 724 largest cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 1.4 billion tonnes of CO2 a year – greater than the annual emissions of Japan.
    Deploying low carbon technologies, such as new building technologies and electric buses, across 30 megacities could create more than 2 million jobs, while avoiding 3 billion tonnes of cumulative greenhouse gas emissions, the Commission says.
    Lima is hosting the Pan American Games in 2019, an international mega event that can act as a catalyst for the host city to invest in sustainable urban development. 
    The Global Commission also cited the World Cup host city of Curitiba in Brazil, which has accommodated a threefold increase in population since the 1960s while achieving per capita greenhouse gas emissions 25 per cent lower and gasoline consumption 30 per cent lower than the national average. 
    “Over the next two decades, cities will grow by over a billion people and generate two thirds of global economic growth,” said Graham Floater of LSE Cities at the London School of Economics and director of the Global Commission’s cities research. 
    “If this rapid urban growth is managed badly, we face a world of sprawling, inefficient, polluted cities – and a major climate change risk. But a new breed of cities is emerging with compact, connected development – innovative cities that are more productive, attractive and low carbon.”
    The Global Commission highlighted Stockholm for its leadership in reducing emissions by 35% from 1993 to 2010 while its economy grew by 41 per cent. In London, car ownership decreased 6 per cent from 1995 to 2011 as while the city’s economy grew by 40 per cent.
    “Mayors and policy-makers adopting low-carbon strategies are making their cities more liveable and more attractive to talent and entrepreneurs, said Ani Dasgupta of the World Resources Institute Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. “The economy and the environment of urban cities go hand-in-hand in creating growth.”
     

  • Qatari air quality tech chosen for 2022 World Cup venues

    Qatari air quality tech chosen for 2022 World Cup venues

    The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy – the organisation in charge of building and kitting out venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup – has has signed a contract with Qatar Mobility Innovations Center (QMIC) to adopt its Hawa’ak air quality monitoring system.
    QMIC has fully developed Hawa’ak to monitor air quality, weather, climate and other environmental conditions in real time. Using an “Internet of Things” platform, it allows users to access this information via multiple channels including mobile delivery, and web portals.
    Hawa’ak takes advantage of a new generation of mobile sensor stations that can be distributed across a wide area to deliver localised and personalised air quality information.
    “We believe that carefully monitoring environment and air quality conditions is a critical part of building and maintaining proposed host venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar,” said Yasir Al Jamal, acting assistant secretary general for delivery affairs at the Supreme Committee. 
    “We are very pleased to have selected the Hawa’ak system from QMIC to furnish our stadiums with weather & air quality monitoring stations.”
    The Supreme Committee is keen to use the World Cup as an opportunity to develop a range of industries within the host nation. In addition to delivering sports infrastructure, the Supreme Committee aims to boost the development of Qatar’s private sector and streamline regulations.
    “We believe that utilizing innovative technologies and systems that are developed in Qatar will help in creating sustainable new industries, which support our strategy of creating a legacy in the country,” said Al Jamal. 
    The collected, processed and refined weather and air quality information will be accessible to the Supreme Committee and its subsidiaries through a range of channels such as web portals, mobile applications, hard copy reports, and alerts among others.
    The Supreme Committee says this information will contribute to building a rich bank of data that will drive the creation of new services and applications optimised for enterprises, government agencies and consumers.
    “We would like to thank the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy for putting their trust in us,” said Dr. Adnan Abu-Dayya, executive director of QMIC. “All along, QMIC has focused on developing and deploying intelligent systems and services to support the needs of important market segments in Qatar including environment, transportation, and road safety. Our strategic partnership with SC will help us scale up our plans and achieve our goals faster in the field of environment.”
     

  • Brazil 2014 World Cup hailed as sustainability benchmark

    Brazil 2014 World Cup hailed as sustainability benchmark

    Sustainability is a relatively new concept to the FIFA World Cup, which has a significant impact on the environment, but last year’s tournament set new standards that will influence other future mega events, FIFA and Brazilian officials said on Tuesday.
    “Sustainability is something quite new in the organisation of the FIFA World Cup,” FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke said at the launch of a sustainability report on the 2014 World Cup.
    “Brazil learned a lot with the FIFA World Cup, Rio learned a lot for Rio 2016, but we also learned a lot and we will implement these learnings in 2018 in Russia in the 11 host cities and 12 stadiums.”
    The deputy sports minister of Brazil, Luis Fernandes added “The FIFA World Cup stadiums in Brazil became a benchmark for the world because they have all pursued sustainability certificates. 
    “Based in this experience, a sustainability certificate has become a requirement by FIFA in the future editions of the World Cup. This is a legacy to Brazil for the world.”
    Hosting the FIFA World Cup involves large transportation operations, catering for millions of spectators, managing waste as well as powering and broadcasting the event globally.
    “This has inevitably had an impact on both society and the environment in the host country,” said Federico Addiechi, FIFA’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility. 
    “To us, sustainability is about how we do things and trying to find a balance between the social, economic and environmental aspects. It is also about minimising risks associated with the event and reducing the negative impact of it, while maximizing the positive one.”
    The 2014 World Cup in Brazil took place in 12 stadiums, seven of which were new and five of which were renovated. Eight of the stadiums integrated solar power in their designs. 
    Nonetheless, preparing for and hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup is estimated to have produced 2,723,756 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
    “Brazil is a developing country and we identified that the opportunity to host the FIFA World Cup was a historical window to leverage investments in infrastructure and services, which our country needed and still needs,” said Fernandes. 
    “Brazil today is recognized as a country that, in spite of the scepticism, delivered the FIFA World Cup with excellence and today we have infrastructure that improved the lives of Brazilians.”
    The venues were spread over all the major regions of the huge country. The 41,000 capacity Arena Amazonia, for instance, was built in the remote resort of Manaus. There is not a big footballing culture there and the only event since the World Cup to draw a capacity crowd was Boi, a local cultural festival. 
    “The FIFA World Cup left us memories of great football, but also a great responsibility. Brazil has now 12 modern arenas in all five regions,” said José Maria Marin, chairman of the Brazilian Football Confederaition (CBF) and 2014 local organising committee.
    “A challenge, but also an opportunity for clubs and cities to strengthen local football and offer a new entertainment option for the community beyond football matches.”
    Despite the challenges of utilising this new infrastructure, FIFA is working in Brazil to continue building even more venues in more regions of the country through a US$100m legacy fund. 
    “Brazil is already a giant in football, but we still need to develop infrastructure and this will be done by FIFA and CBF through the Legacy Fund,” said Fernandes. 
    According to FIFA, the main areas to benefit from the fund will be football infrastructure in the states that did not host World Cup matches (60 per cent), grassroots (15 per cent) and women’s football (15 per cent). 
    “For the Legacy Fund, we agreed it should go to developing women’s football, grassroots and to regions where there were no FIFA World Cup matches,” said Valcke.
    “On women’s football, there is potential to do more in Brazil. We work together with CBF so they can establish a dedicated structure for female football through the legacy fund,” said FIFA Director of Member Associations and Development, Thierry Regenass.
    “There should be good grassroots programmes. The idea is also to work in partnership with local government and other partners in order to publicise more women’s football and make it sustainable.”
    Valcke stressed that the awarding of contracts will be carefully monitored. “FIFA is supporting CBF in order to identify and make sure we are working in the right projects. We have a permanent audit system that monitors our member associations, certifying everything is under clear rules and regulations. 
    “Not a single pay will be made without FIFA having a look at the way it will be used and making sure we are part of the decision process.”
     

  • Qatar 2022: We can host World Cup any time of year

    Qatar 2022: We can host World Cup any time of year

    The uncertainty surrounding the timings of the 2022 World Cup is set to continue until 24th February and the country is able to host at any time of year, according to the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC). 
    The World Cup traditionally takes place during the northern hemisphere’s summer months, during which the European football leagues take a break.
    The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Abraham Al Khalifa of Bahrain’s earlier this week asserted that the World Cup would take place in the winter, preferably November and December 2022, and that “the matter is resolved.”
    But Nasser Al-Khater, the executive director of communications and marketing at the Qatar 2022 SC is reported to have said a press conference at the Doha’s Aspire Zone: “Look, first and foremost we are confident of hosting the World Cup anytime of the year. 
    “It is also no secret that the peak tourism timing is November and December.”
    According to Inside World Football, Al Khater said “There is a meeting of the task force on the 24th of February. What we understand is that a final decision will be recommended during that meeting. It’s the last meeting of the task force to discuss a winter or a summer World Cup.”
    Qatar’s summer months reach blistering heats of over 50 degrees centigrade and many observers have commented on the risks of hosting football matches in these conditions. 
    The SC says it has the cooling technology to overcome these challenges. 
    “We believe the methods and principles [of cooling] are a solution for many countries that will host the World Cup and other events in the future,” Al Khater said.
    “Utilising this technology on such a large scale and having to think outside the box, we are really providing optimal climate conditions.”
    The SC also told press that Qatar’s venue infrastructure projects are on schedule, with five stadiums under construction and two more set for an imminent design launch. 
    Al Khater also faced questions about FIFA’s investigations into the manner in which Qatar was elected as World Cup host.
    “It’s important to highlight it’s an investigation into the bidding process of 2018/2022, but also into individuals,” he said.
    “Everyone coins it as an investigation into Qatar, which is absolutely false and incorrect. We are happy with judge Eckert’s conclusion. At times it was a bit harsh, but, you know this is a World Cup and you will always have criticism and negativity.”