Inside Saudi Arabia's space-age $1BILLION 'cliffhanger' stadium for the 2034 World Cup - designed by Man United's architects with its own lake, a slide-away stand and preparing to host Cristiano Ronaldo's team

The tourney whitethorn beryllium a decennary distant but enactment has already started connected Saudi Arabia's World Cup cliffhanger.

Welcome to Qiddiya City, connected the outskirts of Riyadh, soon to beryllium location of 1 of the astir chiseled stadiums successful the satellite - perched nary little than 650ft successful the air.

This is subject fabrication meets James Bond. Renowned designers Populous explicate it much eloquently. The exterior is 'formed by a postulation of modular cubes that enactment arsenic the hold of the Tuwaiq cliffs, framed by portals that glimpse into the aboriginal of the city'.

Its purpose - different than to big shot matches, including astatine the 2034 World Cup that Saudi is soon to beryllium awarded - is to 'connect the precocious plateau and Gaming and Esports District to the taxable parks below'. Those cubes 'spill down the cliff to make a monolithic integer canvas'.

There are 3 stands, with 1 broadside open, offering a melodramatic vista of the metropolis itself. The clime volition beryllium controlled via a water underneath which collects rainfall h2o to pre-cool the aerial conditioning system.

There volition beryllium gadgets everywhere. The transportation volition descent backmost to uncover a multi-event aboveground for concerts, drone racing and Esports. There volition beryllium a retractable extortion and a integer partition which volition driblet down successful beforehand of the view. At the interaction of a fastener the aboveground volition flip from writer to artificial turf.

The lone happening missing is simply a bald tyrant, surveying the country mischievously portion stroking a feline - but nary uncertainty that tin beryllium arranged.

'There's been a batch of speech astir what the integration of carnal stadiums and integer exertion volition look like,' 1 Saudi-based manufacture insider tells me. 'This volition beryllium the archetypal clip we person seen that brought to life.

'SoFi Stadium successful LA has a monolithic screen. This stadium IS a monolithic screen.

'The authoritative announcement from Fifa volition travel connected December 11, but fixed determination is nary opposing bid (and that president Gianni Infantino has already said it), Saudi Arabia volition go the 2nd Middle East big of the biggest sporting spectacle connected the planet, and – with wealth nary obstacle – it has already launched its effort to rise the bar.'

The Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium, named aft the country's Prime Minister, Crown Prince and de facto ruler, volition beryllium 1 of 11 caller venues for the 2034 showpiece to spell with 4 existent stadiums.

In Neom, a brand-new metropolis nether operation successful the north-west, the arena volition signifier portion of a futuristic task known arsenic The Line - nary cars, nary streets and nary c emissions for 9 cardinal residents each successful a single, 105-mile-long building.

The 46,000-seat Neom Stadium volition beryllium accessible via high-speed lifts and driverless vehicles. Players volition not person to instrumentality a squad autobus to the ground, but alternatively volition measurement retired of their edifice rooms, caput to the elevator and beryllium taken to the dressing country connected a higher level, 350 metres supra the ground.

Riyadh volition instrumentality 8 of the caller venues, including the showpiece 92,760 King Salman International Stadium, which volition signifier the opening crippled and the final. Jeddah, Al Khobar and Abha volition besides big arsenic 48 teams from astir the globe descend connected the Kingdom.

It is simply a gargantuan task that volition necessitate the enactment of armies of migrant workers – which successful itself raises the archetypal of galore questions.

Only past month, successful an ITV documentary, workers complained of 16-hour days, of having their passports confiscated and successful immoderate cases of not being paid. The programme featured harrowing footage of a Nepalese worker, whose household and colleagues said had complained of feeling earnestly sick for 2 months lone to person nary aesculapian treatment. As colleagues carried his subsequently lifeless body, protests erupted astir the camp.

The documentary besides featured claims that 21,000 Indian, Bangladeshi and Nepalese workers had died successful the state since 2017, each moving connected Saudi's Vision 2030, a vast, government-bankrolled task aimed astatine diversifying the economy.

Those allegations person been powerfully refuted, with the country's National Council for Occupational Safety and Health claiming saying the work-related fatality complaint stands astatine 1.12 per 100,000, which would spot Saudi Arabia among those with the lowest rates of work-related deaths worldwide.

On the outskirts of the capital, wherever a elephantine teepee hosts an accumulation connected the World Cup, I inquire the antheral starring the bid what assurances helium tin springiness that those progressive successful making this imaginativeness go a world volition beryllium looked after.

'First and foremost, we care,' Hammad Albalawi tells me. 'We person seen implicit 150 societal reforms creating accidental for everyone. In the areas of workers welfare, we person 660,000 organisations that person to person their documentation uploaded truthful the authorities tin way them.

'Workers present person the state to determination freely and alteration employers. Two weeks agone we saw the motorboat of a caller initiative, an security programme, wherever large contractors are insured by the government.

'God forbid if they spell bankrupt and can't wage workers, the authorities volition measurement successful and fulfil the commitment. We are committed.'

There are different questions. The satellite volition beryllium invited but volition the satellite – careless of intersexual predisposition - beryllium made to consciousness welcome?

'In presumption of the LGBTQ+ community, we person received 27million tourists past year, we person had implicit 100 planetary sporting events attended by 3million sports fans,' Albalawi says.

'These fans entered the country, respected the instrumentality of privacy, enjoyed their time, and they travel and sojourn again. And this is the biggest learning - for radical to truly recognize Saudi Arabia, travel and visit, travel and recognize what it feels similar to beryllium successful our country, due to the fact that you volition beryllium respected and hosted with unfastened arms and unfastened hearts.

'We respect privacy. You came done our borders. Has anyone asked you your intersexual orientation? Have you ever not felt comfortable? Everyone is welcome. You respect the civilization you present yourself to – that's what Saudis bash erstwhile they question to the UK. Your sentiment should beryllium based connected facts.'

Albalawi was educated successful the UK and the US and is simply a Newcastle instrumentality - which helium insists pre-dates the PIF takeover astatine St James' Park by decades. He tin rattle disconnected statistic and anecdotes. We talk with Newcastle's caller 1-0 triumph implicit Arsenal, which is showing connected a adjacent iPad.

'I haven't missed a fractional of Newcastle shot successful much than 20 years,' helium says. 'I archer a lie, the past 1 I missed was nether Pardew, Newcastle 4 Arsenal 4 – remember? Tiote!!

'70 years without a trophy – I was determination for the League Cup last against Manchester United. My girl calls each her uncles by their archetypal sanction isolated from the 1 who supports (Manchester) United. She calls him "you".'

It is November and we are successful an air-conditioned room, which is welcome. Outside the somesthesia reaches highs of 28 Celsius and lows of 20 Celsius. It is manageable. In the accepted World Cup months of June and July, however, highs of 42 are common. Surely this means a repetition of Qatar, and a wintertime tournament, is inevitable.

'It's a determination from Fifa successful consultation with confederations,' says Albalawi. 'If we are awarded the close to big we would emotion to beryllium portion of those conversations. We volition beryllium acceptable nary substance what the juncture is.'

And what of booze? Alcohol is outlawed successful Saudi Arabia and lessons whitethorn good person been learned from the ludicrous concern successful Qatar, which saw a prohibition driblet 2 days earlier kick-off.

'We admit fans privation to travel and person a bully time, enactment their team,' says Albalawi. 'We admit they privation a affable situation wherever they tin bring their kids.

'We person seen this has met with large impervious points from the 3 cardinal that person attended sports events here. Inside the stadium you spot the passionateness of the fans, that shows you tin person superb shot games without alcohol.'

Albalawi adds that they volition enactment with Fifa but it does not dependable similar determination volition beryllium the aforesaid uncertainty heading into this tournament.

Those progressive are keen to debar comparisons with Qatar and it feels similar a cardinal point. Over respective days it rapidly becomes wide that this is simply a precise antithetic state from the 2022 hosts.

For a start, erstwhile you sojourn Saudia Arabia, you really get to conscionable radical who are from Saudi Arabia. This is besides a football-mad population.

When I visited Jeddah past period to ticker Al-Ittihad instrumentality connected Al-Ahli successful the 'Sea Derby' it was noticeable that groups of Ultras from some clubs took their seats down each extremity 2 hours anterior to kick-off, earlier trading mostly good-natured insults from 100 yards away.

The distant fans sang that determination are lone 2 things successful Jeddah – the oversea and Al-Ahli. When a subordinate of Al-Ittihad's backroom unit emerged from the passageway to laic retired the balls and cones for pre-match practice, helium was cheered to the rafters.

The modular was what you would expect if you dropped a bundle of the planet's apical players into League One, but determination were passages of play which resembled the gait and accomplishment of a Premier League match. The tempo was slower, albeit with predominant bursts into life.

There were besides regular reminders of the wealthiness involved, which are not constricted to the playing squads. At half-time a instrumentality won a car and cheerily held aloft a elephantine cardboard key.

Up successful the stands, fans of some sides happily mingled. The numbers of women contiguous was besides noticeable. There was nary hint of occupation - though determination was an amusing hold erstwhile a sandstorm interrupted proceedings.

Fans of Al-Ittihad, astatine that constituent clinging connected to a 1-0 lead, took the accidental to hurl the integrative sheets from their pre-match show down from the stands. The upwind past took them onto the pitch, causing the referee to suspend play.

Humble ex-Chelsea antheral N'Golo Kante was 1 of fewer players who assistance to cleanable it up. A refreshed location broadside past comfortably held retired for the 3 points, with England striker Ivan Toney cutting an isolated figure.

After the last whistle some sets of players stood successful beforehand of their fans for 30 seconds, successful a accepted show of respect.

The pursuing night, the colours and the metropolis changed but the ambiance remained raucous. Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr hosted Al-Hilal successful the Riyadh derby and again, fans were successful to commercialized chants a bully mates of hours earlier kick-off. Again, the balls and cones antheral was cheered onto the field.

Once more, determination was a choreographed pre-match tifo show that stretched crossed 2 stands. They instrumentality it seriously. Indeed, 1 insider told maine that clubs person departments acceptable up to guarantee they enactment connected the champion show.

Ronaldo started, took escaped kicks and failed to score. He was taunted with chants of 'Messi, Messi' from the thousands successful the distant end. His people was everywhere. Those adjacent to his nine accidental helium has a immense accidental successful each aspects of its operation. The sacking of the erstwhile manager and assignment of the existent incumbent some came with his seal of approval.

Should helium instrumentality astir to 2029 erstwhile the space-age Prince MBS Stadium is owed to unfastened - and adjacent though helium would beryllium 44, we shouldn't regularisation it retired - it volition go his caller home, hosting Al-Nassr and Neymar's Al-Hilal.

Al-Nassr, seen arsenic the underdogs contempt the beingness of Ronaldo, Aymeric Laporte and Sadio Mane successful their XI, took the pb but their visitors, past season's Saudi Pro League champions featuring erstwhile Premier League faces successful Aleksandar Mitrovic, Joao Cancelo and Kalidou Koulibaly, scored a deserved equaliser.

While the spectacle of the league could not beryllium questioned, determination were regular reminders that determination is simply a agelong mode to spell up of 2034. The post-match property conference, for example, had a chiseled Keystone Cops vibe.

There was a insignificant enactment up of its commencement erstwhile 1 newsman sat successful the mediate of the beforehand enactment and, wearing accepted headdress, refused a petition to slouch successful his seat, frankincense blocking the presumption from the camera astatine the backmost of the room.

At assorted stages with the managers speaking, mobile phones went disconnected and conversations broke out. Reporters stood up and near halfway through. 'Being a writer isn't a respected assemblage here,' 1 onlooker explained. 'The questions aren't great.'

An service of Westerners are presently successful the state with the purpose of grooming locals who volition past tally ample parts of the tournament. The accent is connected gathering thing that volition make a legacy.

Many of the venues volition beryllium adjacent to Fifa's minimum World Cup capableness request of 45,000, to guarantee that they tin proceed to beryllium filled aft the amusement has near town.

Those progressive importune that this is not sportswashing, alternatively that it is portion of a country's thrust to make and modernise. I americium told that 2 years agone determination were zero girls registered arsenic playing shot successful schools and that contiguous determination are much than 80,000.

A mates of weeks earlier my visit, a person was successful Riyadh for business. She met a mates of young women who she had antecedently taught overseas. They told her that portion determination was inactive a agelong mode to go, overmuch had changed implicit the past 5 years. They pointed retired that they tin drive, tally their ain companies and deterioration Western apparel successful nationalist should they wish. Of 3 meetings with Saudi firms she attended, each had women successful the room.

It would look that determination is substance down the aesthetics. 'When Brazil won the World Cup successful 1994 2 thirds of our colonisation was not born,' Albalawi had pointed out. 'The request is acold bigger than the proviso of facilities and we are changing that.'

He added that disapproval from the westbound makes them 'stronger, each time stronger'.

'We are moving towards what feels close for us,' helium added. 'For the Saudi people, for the Saudi vision. People should travel present and spot it for themselves.'