Leading players in the construction and design of stadiums were honoured at the 4th edition of the World Stadium Congress Awards, held recently in Doha, Qatar, as part of the World Stadium Congress.

This year’s judging panel included industry experts Philipp Herpel, the managing director at HFP, Mark Fenwick, partner at Fenwick Iribarren Architects, and Chris Dite, Associate Director, Sport Venue
Design and Major Events at leading UK-based engineering group Arup.

Over 20 companies made it to the nomination stage across six different categories, but the eventual winners were picked up by an independent judging panel. These include:

*Award for the Best New Stadium or Arena - Tekfen Construction and Heerim Architects and Planners for the Baku Olympic Stadium
*Future Sporting Venue Award - VTB Arena
*Award for Innovative Solution of the Year - Futbol Club Barcelona
*Award for Stadium Consultant of the Year - Astad Project Management
*Award for Stadium Contractor of the Year - Polimeks Construction Company for the Ashgabat Olympic Stadium
*Award for Stadium Design of the Year - Hazza bin Zayed Stadium

The winners were announced during the official awards ceremony and gala dinner that was hosted by Vodafone Qatar on the opening day of the conference, said the event organisers.

The second day began with a ‘round-the-world tour’ of global stadia and venues.

Moderated by beIN Sports’ presenter, Angus Scott, the sessions highlighted the role of stadia and sporting venues in creating central meeting points for communities, stated the organisers.

Serving as more than ‘game-day’ facilities, the key learnings from the sessions highlighted the role of venues and tournaments in building up the communities they serve.

One of the stand-out presentations for the day was from Isabel Gultresa, CSR senior manager for the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, who presented on ‘Generation Amazing’, an initiative by the local organising committee to create a healthy, sustainable society through the three main programmes: Healthy Generation, Green Generation and Inclusive Generation.

Other notable presentations included venues showcase presentations for the Matmut Atlantique Stadium Bordeaux utilised for the Euro 2016 tournament, the proposed new football stadium for Chelsea FC, Stadium Krasnodar to be utilised for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Singapore Sports Hub, FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou, Amsterdam ArenA and the world-famous AT&T Stadium, said the organisers.

As the congress came to a close, the event boasted an incomparable senior and diverse speaker attendance across all four days, functioning as a precursor to 2022 Fifa World Cup Qatar and other sport and stadia projects all across the world, they added.-TradeArabia News Service