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.”

Organisers of the Baku 2015 European Games updated leaders of Europe’s 49 national Olympic Committees at the weekend, met by an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the standard of their preparations.

“I am deeply impressed to see the development here in regard to sport,” said IOC president Thomas Bach, who was also attending the EOC General Assembly in Baku.

“What I have seen and heard about the preparations for the Baku 2015 European Games makes me very confident they will be an outstanding success for European sport and also an outstanding success for Azerbaijan.”

The optimism surrounding Baku 2015 will come as a great relief to the Olympic Movement, coming at a time when the next Olympic Games, Rio 2016, is under intense scrutiny over its delayed preparations and when European cities have been turning away from bidding to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

The NOC presidents and secretary generals were taken on a tour of the key venues including the National Stadium, the National Gymnastics Arena and the Baku Aquatics Centre. 

“I am very impressed at what they have achieved in Baku and the new sports infrastructure is excellent,” said Uğur Erdener, president of the Turkish Olympic Committee.

“The conditions will be perfect for elite performances, I am sure: great venues, great accommodation and transport, and great organisation,” said French Olympic Committee president Denis Masseglia. 

“The stadia here are stunning and the facilities for athletes in the Village and around the city are of the highest level,” said Victor Sanchez, Spanish Olympic Committee secretary general.

More than 6,000 athletes from across Europe will compete in 20 sports at Baku 2015. The programme includes 16 Olympic sports, 11 of which will offer qualification opportunities for Rio 2016.

“After seeing the venues and meeting the organisers this week, I am more convinced than ever that Baku 2015 will be an important stage on our road to Rio 2016,” said Russian Olympic Committee president Alexander Zhukov.

Hosted right on the border of Europe and Asia, the European Games is set to be the biggest multi-sport event on the European calendar in 2015 and beyond. 

“I think Baku 2015 will be one of the surprise events of next year... They will be a breath of fresh air for European sport, said Vlade Divac, president of the Olympic Committee of Serbia. 

“The Organising Committee of Baku 2015 has considered every part of their hosting concept from an athlete and NOC perspective and that is really reassuring for me and my team.”

With the 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022 Olympic Games all set to take place outside Europe, the prospect of a regular multi-sport event in Europe will be reassuring to European Olympic leaders. “I believe in the future of the European Games,” said Russian Olympic Committee president Alexander Zhukov.

The host city of the 2019 European Games is being determined through a process of dialogue between the European Olympic Committees (EOC) and a number of potential host cities and will be announced at an EOC Assembly in the Turkish resort of Belek in May 2015.

The organisers of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, unveiled the latest stadium design today, with details of the cooling technologies described by lead architect Mark Fenwick as a “challenge” to incorporate. 

The Qatar Foundation Stadium is the fourth stadium design to be revealed by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, who announced the plans on the anniversary of Qatar winning the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. 

The venue, based in Education City on the outskirts of Doha, will be combined with a Health and Wellness Precinct and educational programmes.

“Designing the Qatar Foundation Stadium was a unique challenge as it incorporates the innovative cooling technologies being developed by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy,” said Mark Fenwick, lead architect for RFA Fenwick Iribarren Architects.

According to the Supreme Committee, the design will create a comfortable environment for football. “Pitch and spectator terraces are cooled to the target temperatures; the players’ and spectators’ comfort levels will meet and exceed FIFA requirements and guidelines for safe play and spectating.”

The stadium is to be cooled using chilled water from the local air conditioning network combined with an innovative roof design. 

The opening in the stadium roof is designed as a cavity, to act as a wind break and slow down the movement of hot air outside the roof. This process is passive and consumes no energy, helping to reduce the building’s overall energy consumption by reducing the amount of cool conditioned air escaping. 

The active cooling system used by the stadium will take in chilled water from Education City’s existing district cooling network. 

The high energy consumption of air conditioning will be further offset by photovoltaic and reflective technologies to produce energy for electricity and hot water. Photovoltaic and solar thermal panels are proposed to power the stadium, swimming pool and indoor pavilion.

According to the Supreme Committee, photovoltaic and solar thermal panels could be placed on the stadium roof.

The developers are aiming for a Gold Sustainability Building Certification in the US Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) ratings system.

To attain this, at least 20 per cent of all materials used is proposed to come from sustainable sources. 50 per cent of all wood-based materials are to be procured from sustainable forestry sources, while 20 per cent of all materials are to be sourced regionally in a bid to reduce the carbon footprint of logistics.

The construction is being managed by Qatar Foundation’s Capital Projects Directorate, which is setting its own standards in workers’ welfare, based on the Supreme Committee’s recommendations. 

“With the exception of the early works contractor, who was awarded prior to the release of the QF Mandatory Standards of Migrant Workers’ Welfare (QF Standards), all contractors and sub-contractors working on this project will be contractually required to comply with the QF Standards,” says the Supreme Committee.

“Both sets of standards—which are based on Qatari labour law and international best practices—establish minimum requirements that protect the rights of workers from recruitment to repatriation. 

“The SC and QF Standards are very similar and only differ in terms of the accommodation specifications.”

The stadium is scheduled for completion in 2018 with a capacity of 40,000 seats to host matches up to and including the quarter-final stage of the World Cup in 2022. The stadium will be reconfigured to 15,000 seats after the World Cup. 

The members-only Health & Wellness Precinct will incorporate medical clinics and sports facilities, football pitches, gymnasiums, tennis courts and facilities for non-traditional sports such as climbing as well healthy restaurants and cafes. 

“Through innovative design, sustainably-sourced materials and the latest cooling and energy-efficient technology, the Qatar Foundation Stadium and Health & Wellness Precinct will not only allow us to host an amazing FIFA World Cup but also leave a genuine legacy in Qatar well beyond 2022,” said Ghanim Al Kuwari, Competition Venues Director at the Supreme Committee. 

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

The new golf course that is being developed for Rio 2016 has proved a controversial project owing to its location, speed of development and the fact the city already has a course that has hosted major events.

The course is being developed in a nature reserve located in the Barra da Tijuca area of the city, a suburb that is also well known for its expensive real estate. Plans for the course include the construction of 160 high-end apartments that are selling for as much as $7m (€5.5m).

Judge Eduardo Klasner said in a hearing last week that the defendants – the city and the developer – and the public prosecutor must find a way to protect the nature reserve with construction to be halted if a compromise is not reached.

The prosecutor has requested that a number of holes on the course be altered and has asked the developer to return some of the land to the ecological reserve. Judge Klasner has allowed sodding on the course to continue, but the facility must be completed before the Brazilian summer begins in December, with no imminent ruling on the case expected.

Felli in April was deployed by the IOC as a senior troubleshooter for Rio 2016 and said he is confident the ongoing troubles will not stop a test event from taking place ahead of the Games, either late in 2015 or early in 2016. 

“Our understanding today is that we will be ready for the first test event which will be needed to be done for the golf,” Felli told the Associated Press news agency. “We are satisfied on the progress we see today. But we are not playing tomorrow. We know that we are going to play for the test event.”

Carlos Nuzman, head of the Rio 2016 organising committee and president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, said the matter is now in the hands of the city and Mayor Eduardo Paes. “Golf will be in the Olympics,” Nuzman said. “The city is responsible for the golf course.”

Rio 2016 last week stepped up its preparations for the Olympics by unveiling its ticketing strategy. More than half of the tickets available for the summer Games will be priced at less than R70 (€24/$31).

Arup will provide advice for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to develop venues and infrastructure for the Games.

Arup’s service for the Tokyo Olympics includes masterplan review and advice for cross-sectorial specialty areas such as transport, security, sustainability and legacy. Jointly with partner consultant AECOM, Arup will also advise on the venue briefs and contribute to the strategy development for overall delivery of design and construction through the preparation stage to the legacy transformation.

“Arup is proud to have played a part in renewing Beijing and London in advance of the Olympics and is looking forward to continuing our contribution to the 2020 Tokyo Games,” Jerome Frost, the Arup director who was head of design and regeneration for the London Olympics, said.

“Through our experience in preparing cities for the Olympics and other international events, the firm has been responsible for much of the urban renewal of the host cities, ensuring the events serve as a catalyst for long-term investment and development.”

The partnership comes with construction work on Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium for the Games being delayed until mid-December at the earliest, according to the Japan Sport Council (JSC).

Under proposals, the city’s current National Stadium will be demolished for a $1.6bn (€1.2bn) 80,000-capacity facility to be built in its place. However, the demolition of the existing arena has faced a raft of delays in light of concerns over construction costs.

The JSC owns the current national stadium but plans have been put back once more due to complaints of irregularities in an earlier round of bids for the demolition project. A mid-December start date would be five months later than work on the stadium was originally slated to begin.

A Tokyo construction firm filed a complaint with the Government Procurement Review Board after a second round of bidding in the summer. The first round failed as all bids submitted were too high. 

“There was a complaint about the process and it was recommended to us that we hold another round of bidding," a JSC official said, according to the Reuters news agency. “We accepted that suggestion.”

A JSC internal investigation has led it to reject claims by workers from the company in question that bids were opened before the final price was set and that a firm other than the lowest bidder secured the job. The Government Procurement Review Board ordered another round of bidding despite reporting no evidence of wrongdoing.

Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura, whose ministry is in charge of Games preparation, admitted to “basic mistakes” being made in the process last month. 

He added: “This is extremely regrettable and we are taking it extremely seriously. We are recommending that another round of bidding be held.”

The JSC remains confident of meeting a contraction deadline for the new stadium to host matches when Japan stages the 2019 edition of the IRB Rugby World Cup.

Tokyo 2020 organisers are reviewing the locations of their current venue plans because of concerns over the rising costs of the Games.

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.” 

The Organising Committee for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games announced the appointment of Mondo as the Official Provider of athletic track surface on Wednesday – after the company had already supplied the material for the athletics track surface. 

“Not only has Mondo provided the track surface but they are now part of the Glasgow 2014 sponsor family,” a spokesperson for Glasgow 2014 told HOST CITY.

Mondo is also providing specialist sports equipment for the field of play.  “As a sponsor, Mondo has been granted exclusive rights to market and associate itself as a sponsor of the Games in connection with athletics sports equipment and track surface manufacture,” the spokesperson said.

Glasgow 2014 declined to comment on the financial terms of the sponsorship or to what extent the value of the sponsorship will offset the cost of laying the track, saying “We cannot comment on the financial arrangements of any sponsorship contracts as this is commercially-sensitive information.” 

The running track is the top layer of the major transformation that Hampden Park, Scotland’s national football stadium has undergone to become Glasgow 2014’s athletics venue.

A revolutionary solution has raised the stadium surface by almost two metres, gaining the width and length required for the athletics track. The track has been laid in sections, laying 20 sq m rolls one at a time. Around 14,000 sq m of pre-fabricated and pre-tested Mondo material has been laid inside Hampden Park.

Maurizio Stroppiana, Sport&Flooring General Manager at Mondo said “Glasgow has created a venue that is not only an engineering feat but a world-class example of environmental and social responsibility. Mondo is proud to be part of this achievement.”

A further 6,000sqm has been installed at Lesser Hampden, which will be the main warm-up area for athletes prior to competition.

Mondo supplied athletics track surfaces for the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

David Grevemberg, Glasgow 2014 Chief Executive, said “The solution we’re implementing to transform Scotland’s National Stadium is a world-first on such a scale and it’s great to have the quality of track material supplied by Mondo providing a first-class platform for the best athletes of the Commonwealth to shine.”

The contract to provide temporary power to the 2014 Ryder Cup has been awarded to Aggreko. 

The leading lessor or power and temperature control solutions will provide 17 MW of power and back-up support on location at Gleneagles. 

Aggreko will also air-condition the media centre, hospitality units, tented village and other temporary infrastructure.

In total, Aggreko will be helping to power and cool around 40 different major temporary structures at the Gleneagles site.

The 2014 Ryder Cup will deploy Aggreko’s especially quiet TwinPack generators, which will minimise sound emissions from power production in and around the golf course.

An half a billion homes in 183 countries worldwide are expected to watch the event. As technical power is crucial for broadcasting, Aggreko will use around 600 distribution boards to connect and feed power supplies around the course. 

"Aggreko has vast experience of providing temporary power and temperature control solutions at golf tournaments,” said Angus Cockburn, interim CEO of Aggreko, which has its headquarters in nearby Glasgow.

“Doing so at The 2014 Ryder Cup, which is on our doorstep and is perhaps higher profile than any previous tournament is a great privilege.”

Other major sports events that Aggreko has provided services for include nine Olympic and Paralympic Games, five FIFA World Cups, four Ryder Cups in Europe and the XX Commonwealth Games.

"Aggreko is yet another global business with firm Scottish roots to join us at The 2014 Ryder Cup,” said Edward Kitson, match director of the 2014 Ryder Cup. “Their expertise and experience at previous sporting events, both at golf tournaments and others with international broadcast power requirements, will be invaluable.”

The 2014 Ryder Cup takes place at The Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland from 26-28 September, 2014.

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.”