Qatar authorities to stage COVID-19 themed inauguration of new Education City Stadium
Qatar is set to officially inaugurate Education City Stadium, the third venue completed for the nation’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), the local organising body for the World Cup, has announced an event will be held at the 40,000-capacity venue to mark the to official inauguration on 15th June.
As reported by Al Jazeera, an SC spokesperson advised “the stadium’s completion will be marked on June 15 with a live program which celebrates the contribution of front-line workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The show will also discuss the future of sport, mental health and fan experience in a post-COVID-19 world.”
Located on the outskirts of the capital Doha the new stadium is right in the middle of some of Qatar's leading universities.
Completed in December, its opening will follow that of the Khalifa International Stadium - which reopened in May 2017 after redevelopment and Al Janoub Stadium inaugurated in May 2019. Two more venues - Al Rayyan and Al Bayt - are also set to be inaugurated this year.
In February, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Qatar’s preparations for the 2022 World Cup “stand where no other host did before” as the SC and world football’s governing body marked the 1,000-day countdown to the event by providing an update on the massive infrastructure project involved in staging the tournament.
Education City Stadium, nicknamed the ‘Diamond in the Desert’, is proposed to host matches up to and including the quarter-finals stage during Qatar 2022. Delivered by Pattern Architects following initial design by FIA Fenwick Iribarren Architects, it is the first Qatar 2022 venue to achieve a five-star design and build rating from GSAS.
Following Qatar 2022, the stadium’s capacity will be reduced by half and 20,000 seats will be donated to help build venues in developing countries.
Image: Education City Stadium courtesy of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.
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