I'll tell you something that you can boast about in your local pub for the coming few weeks. Till date, only countries situated in Europe and Southern America have contested or placed a bid for the World Cup finals, and world cup has never ever been held in a middle-eastern country. This time, for a change, Gulf country and Oil baron Qatar has placed a bid to host the 2022 World Cup; hopeful of a Solar powered one planned by German architects AS & P.
If Qatar, the country which has prospered on its oil wells and oil exports, manages to seal the bid, then a set of three new stadiums are being planned, while two pre-existing ones will be modified and designed again to suit their plan of powering it through solar energy. All the stadiums are so planned that they will be less than one hour drive from the main central location of the entire tournament. A 320 kilometer long metro has been proposed, that will connect the gaming stadiums so that fans who’re interested in watching more than one match per day can do so.
The Al-Khor stadium, one of the proposed stadiums for the world cup lies in the north-eastern part of Qatar and have an asymmetrical shell shaped design with a cover on the top, so if the pitch needs to be covered and kept in shadow, it will be possible. Another stadium, the Al-Shamal will be constructed on the lines of the legendary Dhow fishing boat. The pre-existing stadium Al Gharafa will be dressed in ribbons that will signify the color of the participating nations.
The country has worked out that by the year 2022, enough technology will be available to keep the country cool and the temperature maintained around 27 degree Celsius, which is a rare feat to achieve considering that the temperature in this Saharan country goes up to 50 degree Celsius. But ofcourse, the sun and the heat in the desert will help enough for powering the solar power devices.
On the other hand, Japan is giving a tough competition, since it has planned a holographic 3D broadcast for the World Cup 2022, and is bidding for the same.