Foster and Partners Will Design Qatar’s 2022 World Cup™ Lusail Stadium
Renowned British architects Foster and Partners was named on March 9 as the designer of the stadium that will host the final of the Qatar football World Cup™ in 2022.
The London-based firm won the international tender competition for the project, Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy. The 80,000 seater stadium will be built in the purpose-built city of Lusail, some 15km north of the capital Doha.
The stadium will be the centrepiece of a huge $45 billion (38 billion euro) construction project which will see an entire new city rise from the desert in time for football’s biggest tournament in seven years’ time.
The decision was announced by Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which is overseeing preparations for the World Cup™ in the Gulf state.
Hassan Al Thawadi, the committee’s secretary-general, was quoted by the media as saying: “We look forward to working with them (Foster and Partners) in creating an iconic, contemporary stadium inspired by Qatari culture.
“Lusail Stadium will be the centrepiece of the tournament, an architecturally innovative stadium which maintains sporting functionality and delivers on our sustainability commitments.”
The stadium at Lusail is also expected to host the first game of the tournament as well as the opening ceremony.
Lord Foster, the chairman of Foster and Partners, said it was an ‘honour to design this centrepiece stadium’.
“We are delighted to have won the international competition,” he added.
The architects are an internationally acclaimed firm responsible for such projects as the redevelopment of the Reichstag Building in Berlin, the Hearst Tower in New York and, perhaps most pertinently, the revamp of Wembley Stadium in London.
The company’s selection comes after a long tender process.