Lusail venue will host opening ceremony and final

A Foster & Partners team has been confirmed as the architect for the stadium which will hold the final of the 2022 World Cup.

The dates of the competition are set to be switched to November and December to avoid the soaring summer temperatures in Qatar, with the final at Lusail Stadium now expected to be played on December 18 at the latest.

The Foster adn Partners team includes Populous and Arup, with the stadium, which will also host the opening ceremony, holding 80,000. The client on the scheme is the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.

The practice had already drawn up a scheme for the stadium – it worked on the arena’s concept (pictured) as part of Qatar’s successful bid for the World Cup in late 2010.

Lord Foster said: “The project pioneers the idea of an ongoing life for the stadium beyond the big event.

“The environmental strategies, particularly those that address the players as well as the spectators, will also be of international interest to the sporting public as well as those concerned with the architecture.”

Last summer, the organisers relaunched the architectural competition to design the flagship stadium after ditching an earlier competition in March because of worries over the quality of designs put forward and fears, sources said, that none of the bids “[adequately] reflected Qatari design and culture”.

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