One: World cup buildings are getting green electricity from a next-generation power station which harvests only solar energy, built by the Power Construction Corporation of China.
Two: People are taken where they need to go in a fleet of 888 fully electric buses, made by Yutong Bus, a Chinese firm that has quietly become, as far as I can tell, the world’s biggest bus maker.
Three: The main stadium was built by China Railway Construction Corporation: that’s the firm that pops up in Africa and Europe and around the planet, known for its extraordinary ability to create infrastructure in difficult environments.
Four: What’s a sporting event without souvenir merchandise? It’s estimated that almost 70 per cent of World Cup related goods, from footballs to flags to jerseys to whistles, came from a single location in China, a southeastern city called Yiwu.
Five: A purpose-built extra-large reservoir is providing clean drinking water for sports people and fans. It was constructed by Gezhouba Group, from Wuhan.
Six: The stadium-building operations needed huge amounts of heavy equipment, from massive earth movers to cranes – nearly 100 of these were supplied by China’s Sany Heavy Industry, one of the world’s biggest construction firms.
Seven: The most innovative venue is Qatar’s Stadium 974, which can be disassembled and reassembled anywhere. Designed by a Spanish architect, the 974 building blocks were made by China International Marine Containers.
Eight: Notice all the LED floodlights everywhere? They come from the Unilumin Group of China.
Nine: Most people say air conditioners are a must for survival in that environment – and China’s Midea Co supplied 2,500 aircons for the event.
Ten: Last but not least, this is the most expensive sporting event in world history, and needed a lot of support from businesses. Nineteen China firms signed up to sponsor the event.
There’s a wonderful paradox about sports. Sports divides us into competitors—yet at the same time it gives us shared goals and so magically unites us at the same time. Gotta love it!
