The firm led by British architect Norman Foster will design Qatar's "flagship football stadium" at Lusail city, which will host the World Cup Opening Ceremony and final match in '22, the local organizing committee has confirmed, according to Lesley Walker of DOHA NEWS. Lusail Stadium, which is the eighth Qatar venue to be confirmed, "is expected to be the largest of Qatar's World Cup arenas, with the capacity to seat 80,000 people." The Qatar Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said in a statement that the stadium will feature an "open-air pitch that can be cooled to 26C using cooled and shaded spectator stands." Foster + Partners will collaborate with sports and stadium experts including ARUP and Populous to create the final design for the arena, which SCDL Secretary General Hassan Al Thawadi said will be an "iconic, contemporary stadium inspired by Qatari culture." Details of the final design have "yet to be publicly revealed." All contracts for the Lusail stadium project will be governed by the SCDL's Workers Welfare Standards, which were announced in '13 and "outline a number of basic rights that all contractors working on World Cup-related projects in Qatar are required to follow." Following the announcement about Lusail, human rights activists appealed to Foster to "ensure the arena will be built ethically" (DOHA NEWS, 3/10).
