Jean-François Pérès (special envoy to Qatar) 12:20 p.m., December 9, 2022
The meeting for the quarter-finals between France and England will not be played in Doha on Saturday but in the middle of the desert, in the Al Bayt Stadium.
As surprising as it may seem given the location, this speaker meets the highest ecological standards.
Europe 1 takes you there.
For the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup, the match between the French and the English will have a very different setting.
The meeting will not be played in Doha but in the middle of the desert.
And to get there, you first have to get out of Doha, its traffic jams and its countless motorway ramps.
Gradually, the skyscrapers give way to buildings and houses.
After an hour's drive, the desert.
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One of the happy people of this World Cup
Literally in the middle of nowhere, a shape stands out.
A gigantic Bedouin surrounded by several hectares of grass, it is the Al Bayt Stadium, one of the jewels of this World Cup yet not stingy with architectural follies.
60,000 people will be there on Saturday evening.
As surprising as it may seem given the location, this enclosure designed by Italian and Qatari architects meets the highest ecological standards.
Solar energy provides lighting for multiple car parks.
At the end of the World Cup, the upper ring will be dismantled and offered to requesting countries.
There will remain highways, including a dizzying two-lane six-lane, a hotel, a shopping center or even a cinema.
On paper, this all seems excessive.
But in the land of camels, we assure, hand on heart, that this World Cup will not leave white elephants.