The deal signals a second year of hefty wage hikes, which
economists say will not fuel inflation unduly but could help
bolster consumption at a time when Europe’s largest economy is
under pressure from its neighbours to do more to stimulate
growth and help drag the region out of recession.

Less than five months before a German election, unions have
been pushing for strong wage hikes, confident that politicians
will back them.

The German economy lost momentum last year and contracted
0.7 percent in the final quarter, picking up in the first three
months of this year by eking out a meagre 0.1 percent growth,
according to data released on Wednesday.

Private consumption almost exclusively drove growth in the
first quarter, and wage hikes together with low unemployment are
likely to boost it further, economists said.

Economists said that by increasing labour unit costs, such
deals also reduce German competitiveness, helping to even out
imbalances within the euro zone, where many countries are under
pressure to carry out internal devaluations.

Metal and engineering workers in the southern state will get
a 3.4 percent increase in July, followed by a 2.2 percent hike
in May 2014. The agreement, which economists said was equivalent
to annual pay hikes of 3 percent, runs for 20 months and averts
the prospect of protracted strikes in the sector.

Wages of some 12.5 million workers are due for negotiation
this year and economists reckon their paychecks will outpace
inflation to rise between 2.5 and 4.0 percent. Negotiated wages
climbed by an average 2.7 percent in 2012.

“Wage increases of roughly 3 percent per year are not
excessive, but boost real incomes as inflation runs at about
half that rate,” said Christian Schulz at Berenberg Bank.
“That’s positive for consumption and – by extension – imports”

“Stronger German imports should help the euro zone crisis
countries export their way out of trouble.”

PILLAR OF SUPPORT

Moreover leaders from the euro zone and further afield have
called on German politicians to do what they can to boost
domestic consumption and strengthen the German economy, which
has supported activity in the crisis-ridden euro zone over the
past few years. The bloc contracted for the sixth straight
quarter at the start of this year.

Years of wage restraint, combined with labour market
reforms, have helped turn Germany – once described as the “sick
man of Europe” – into an economic success story.

But German paychecks have begun to creep higher. In 2012 IG
Metall, an industrial union which is negotiating for around 4.3
million industrial workers this year, clinched its biggest pay
rise in 20 years – a 4.3 percent wage hike over 13 months.

“This acceptance of rising unit labour costs marks a notable
break with the wage setting behaviour of the past decade,” said
Greg Fuzesi at J.P. Morgan. “This is clearly positive for
consumer spending, although the latter also depends on other
income components, which were weak last year.”

“Wage hikes that are higher than in the rest of the euro
zone mean private consumption will remain a pillar of support
for the economy,” said Alexander Krueger at Bankhaus Lampe. “We
will unlikely have a short-term impact on inflation, although it
will rise a bit next year, probably to around 2 percent.”

Annual inflation was running at 1.2 percent in April,
leaving plenty of leeway for such increases before it exceeds
the European Central Bank’s target for price stability of just
under 2 percent.

Seasonally-adjusted preliminary data released on Wednesday by the Statistics Office showed the German economy growing by 0.1 percent, significantly less than a median forecast in a Reuters poll of 35 economists for expansion of 0.3 percent.

The Office revised the contraction in the fourth quarter downwards to 0.7 percent from an originally reported -0.6 percent.

“This is a bitter disappointment. The economic forecasts for this year will be cut again significantly,” said Andreas Scheuerle at Dekabank. “Until now we had expected 2013 growth of 0.6 percent but it may now be 0.4 percent.”

The economy, which grew strongly during the early years of the euro zone crisis but lost momentum last year, has not yet featured prominently in Germany’s election campaign. But if it worsens significantly it could become a headache for Chancellor Angela Merkel as she seeks a third term in office in September.

Her government raised its 2013 growth forecast last month to a meager 0.5 percent. Nonetheless Germany is outperforming both the euro zone’s struggling periphery and other core economies such as France, which entered recession in the first quarter according to data released earlier on Wednesday.

A harsh winter weighed on German activity in the first quarter, with growth driven exclusively by private consumption while investments and exports declined, the Statistics Office said.

German companies’ financial results were a mixed bag in the first quarter, with many saying the improved demand they had hoped for, especially in crisis-riddled Europe, had not yet materialized.

More than a third of Germany’s 30 blue-chip companies posted worse-than-expected quarterly results. Most of them stuck with their 2013 outlook, banking on a pickup later in the year and support from efforts to cut costs to weather the crisis.

The Statistics Office showed the economy shrank 1.4 percent on the year in the first quarter after remaining unchanged in the fourth quarter.

Economists however said there were signs the German economy would pick up in the rest of the year, with signs of a revival in the construction sector, a rise in industry orders and a pickup in consumer and investor morale. Consumers were more upbeat going into May that at any point in the past 5-1/2 years.

“Germany will have to rely on domestic demand for growth this year,” said ING’s Carsten Brzeski. “Its fundamentals are very strong: employment rose by 0.7 percent in 2012 and continued to rise in early 2013.”

“Inflation is low, wages are rising and the very low borrowing costs for companies and households should boost purchases and investment.”

(Additional reporting by Alexandra Hudson, Klaus Lauer and Rene Wagner in Berlin and Maria Sheahan in Frankfurt; Editing by Stephen Brown)

Seasonally-adjusted preliminary data released on Wednesday
by the Statistics Office showed the German economy growing by
0.1 percent, significantly less than a median forecast in a
Reuters poll of 35 economists for expansion of 0.3 percent.

The Office revised the contraction in the fourth quarter
downwards to 0.7 percent from an originally reported -0.6
percent.

“This is a bitter disappointment. The economic forecasts for
this year will be cut again significantly,” said Andreas
Scheuerle at Dekabank. “Until now we had expected 2013 growth of
0.6 percent but it may now be 0.4 percent.”

The economy, which grew strongly during the early years of
the euro zone crisis but lost momentum last year, has not yet
featured prominently in Germany’s election campaign. But if it
worsens significantly it could become a headache for Chancellor
Angela Merkel as she seeks a third term in office in September.

Her government raised its 2013 growth forecast last month
to a meagre 0.5 percent. Nonetheless Germany is outperforming
both the euro zone’s struggling periphery and other core
economies such as France, which entered recession in the first
quarter according to data released earlier on Wednesday.

A harsh winter weighed on German activity in the first
quarter, with growth driven exclusively by private consumption
while investments and exports declined, the Statistics Office
said.

German companies’ financial results were a mixed bag in the
first quarter, with many saying the improved demand they had
hoped for, especially in crisis-riddled Europe, had not yet
materialised.

More than a third of Germany’s 30 blue-chip companies posted
worse-than-expected quarterly results. Most of them stuck with
their 2013 outlook, banking on a pickup later in the year and
support from efforts to cut costs to weather the crisis.

The Statistics Office showed the economy shrank 1.4 percent
on the year in the first quarter after remaining unchanged in
the fourth quarter.

Economists however said there were signs the German economy
would pick up in the rest of the year, with signs of a revival
in the construction sector, a rise in industry orders and a
pickup in consumer and investor morale. Consumers were more
upbeat going into May that at any point in the past 5-1/2 years.

“Germany will have to rely on domestic demand for growth
this year,” said ING’s Carsten Brzeski. “Its fundamentals are
very strong: employment rose by 0.7 percent in 2012 and
continued to rise in early 2013.”

“Inflation is low, wages are rising and the very low
borrowing costs for companies and households should boost
purchases and investment.”

Germany grew by just 0.1 percent on the quarter, weaker than
expected as a harsh winter prevented a stronger rebound.

“The German economy is only slowly picking up steam,” the
Statistics Office said in a statement. “The extreme winter
weather played a role in this weak growth.”

France entered a shallow recession after contracting by 0.2
percent in the first three months of the year, as it did in the
last quarter of 2012, the INSEE statistics agency said.

The German statistics office revised down its figure for the
end of 2012 to show a contraction of 0.7 percent, from 0.6
percent.

The difference between Europe’s two largest economies looks
narrow over the first three months of the year but European
diplomats and officials fear France will continue to lag far
behind, threatening the cohesion of the twin policy motor that
has traditionally driven the European project.

“Looking ahead, prospects for the German economy are further
clearing up,” ING economist Carsten Brzeski said. “Industry is
gaining pace as order books have started to fill again and
companies are cautiously stepping up their investment plans.
Moreover, domestic demand with the solid labour market and wage
increases have become a reliable growth driver.”

The figure for the whole euro zone, due at 0900 GMT, is
forecast to show the currency bloc’s economy subsided by 0.1
percent in the first quarter, leaving it in recession, although
a strong industrial production reading on Tuesday could produce
a better result.

A Reuters poll of 65 economists showed growth should return
in the second half of this year and the euro zone may even
scrape up some in the second quarter, but there will no strong
recovery until at least 2015.

LONG RUNWAY

Even Germany will find it difficult to reach take-off speed
alone.

Thomas Gitzel at VP Bank expected a stronger performance in
the second quarter as construction activity, hit by the extreme
winter, bounces back.

But he added: “The current global economic backdrop makes a
sustained recovery more unlikely. Difficulties in France and
disappointing growth figures from China are strewing stones in
the path of the Germany economy. Hopes of significantly higher
growth could be premature.”

The figures will add fuel to a burgeoning debate about how
to balance the need to cut debt with measures to foster growth.

Italian and French leaders have been vocal in calling for an
end to austerity and European Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso has said it has reached the limits of public acceptance.

France, Spain and others have been granted longer to meet
their deficit targets because of the worsening economic outlook

Germany, however, sees austerity as necessary to bring down
bloated debts after a decade of credit-fuelled spending across
much of Europe, even if many economists say it has deepened the
euro zone’s recession.

Data out last month showed Spain’s economy shrank for a
seventh consecutive quarter in the first three months of the
year, falling by 0.5 percent.

The government has acknowledged that 2013 will be worse than
it had previously expected with the economy expecting to
contract by 1.3 percent.

“Alternative for Germany” (AfD), which wants the country to quit the euro and reintroduce the deutsche mark, said it would found its 16th and final regional association on Sunday – a requirement to be able to contest national votes.

Around 11,407 people from across the political spectrum have joined the party since it was launched just two months ago by a group of academics, journalists and businessmen.

Yet AfD has failed to generate broader support, languishing in opinion polls at 2 to 3 percent, below the 5 percent threshold needed to enter the Bundestag lower house.

“They have a chance of getting into the Bundestag, they have potential, with around 24 percent of voters saying they could imagine voting for them,” said Klaus-Peter Schoeppner of Emnid pollsters, adding that a quarter of those at most would actually vote for AfD as things stand.

“A lot depends on whether they can get away from being a single issue party and whether a charismatic personality emerges.”

Single issue parties have rarely gained much traction in Germany, Europe’s largest economy and paymaster.

Opinion polls regularly show a majority of Germans still back the euro, but AfD is trying to tap into concerns about the mounting costs of bailouts for heavily indebted countries in the southern euro zone.

AfD spokeswoman Dagmar Metzger said the party, funded by supporters’ donations, was becoming more professional and would soon establish a leadership team in Berlin.

THREAT TO MERKEL?

Analysts say even if AfD fails to enter the Bundestag, a strong result could influence German euro zone policy by making Berlin even less willing to back future bailouts.

While it is drawing supporters from across the political spectrum, AfD looks set to siphon most support from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right “black-yellow” coalition.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble last month attacked AfD’s core goal for Germany to leave the euro as “economically insane” but warned that support for the anti-euro party could cost his coalition crucial votes.

Oskar Niedermayer, political scientist Berlin Free University, said AfD could steal enough votes from junior coalition partners the Free Democrats (FDP) to prevent them getting above the 5 percent hurdle.

“If black-yellow does really badly, then two percent of the vote for AfD could spell the end for the current government,” Niedermayer said. A regional member of parliament for the FDP last week revealed he had switched to AfD.

But the complex nature of German politics means support for AfD could also paradoxically help Merkel’s coalition stay in power, said Peter Matuschek at Forsa pollsters.

If such small parties take a large share of the vote without individually reaching the threshold to enter parliament, their votes are then redistributed among the remaining parties. Merkel’s coalition could need just 45 percent of the overall vote under such a scenario to win a majority, he said.

(Editing by Gareth Jones and Andrew Heavens)

“Masse” (mass) features three performances by choreographers
scored by DJs who regularly play at the Berghain in a wasteland
in the city’s ex-communist east which grew out of a gay, fetish
joint and is known for its booming sound and hedonistic parties.

The show, staged in the hitherto derelict main hall of the
power plant behind the club, epitomises the city’s experimental
spirit which many fear is under threat from gentrification and
rising rents and costs.

“The menacing atmosphere of the Berghain was an
inspiration,” said choreographer Tim Plegge, whose piece
features ballerinas wearing bondage masks and one dancer
smothering the rest with smoke.

Electronic music resonates around the 17-metre (55 ft) high
brick and cement walls of a hall that has been transformed into
a techno temple and opened to the public for the first time.

The barren set, featuring a bus wreck and twisted steel, is
also the debut stage design of German artist Norbert Bisky.

“I wanted to create a contrast with the beauty of the
dancers’ movements,” said Bisky, whose works feature in a
variety of collections including at New York’s Museum of Modern
Art (MOMA). “Firstly, the world is not just perfection and
beauty, secondly the hall is a very raw, forbidding place.”

Bisky said he wanted to draw on the “catastrophic mood of
recent years” and growing scepticism about unbridled urban
growth.

CHANGING CITY LANDSCAPE

Berghain is one of the many clubs or alternative culture
venues in Berlin located in industrial buildings that were long
derelict due to the city’s tortuous 20th century history,
destroyed by World War Two and then divided by the Berlin Wall.

“It’s a very special place, an unrestored industrial
building with morbid architecture typical of Berlin,” said
spectator Fritz Stahlberg, 57, after the premiere of the show,
which runs till May 25 but is already sold out.

Berghain and ballet fans who failed to get tickets have
tried to sneak into the plant in the day and wait for the show.

“You couldn’t have a classical ballet here, just as a
contemporary ballet like this wouldn’t necessarily fit into your
usual opera house,” said Stahlberg.

The Berlin state ballet company, one of the largest in
Europe, said the show was also a chance to reach a new public.

“It’s a possibility to both reach a new public that wouldn’t
usually be interested in ballet and to bring opera-goers to a
techno club they would otherwise never step foot in,” said
Nadine Jaeger, spokeswoman for the ballet company.

In its wild heyday following reunification in 1990, Berlin
attracted hoards of artists and became known for its
graffiti-covered squats and wild parties and cultural happenings
in warehouses, swimming pools and factories.

But in the last few years, property prices have jumped in
the city that its mayor once branded “poor but sexy” and
investors have reclaimed real estate once left to squatters,
forcing many alternative culture venues to close or move on.

On top of gentrification, clubs are facing a higher tax rate
as well as a new system of royalty payments squeezing profit
margins, forcing many clubs to shut, a phenomenon known by
locals as “Clubsterben” or “club death”.

But Berghain is pushing ahead with ts experimental edge and
becoming more ambitious in scope. The club’s publicity-shy
owners in 2010 bought the plant built in neoclassical style as
part of east Germany’s post-war reconstruction programme.

While the club attracts techno enthusiasts from all over the
world, it has also branched out into high-brow culture,
displaying artworks by famous artists such as Wolfgang Tillmans
and hosting small classical concerts and shows.

The club said its original plans to fully convert the plant’s
main hall into a venue for major productions have been thwarted
by the higher taxes and royalties. “Masse” takes place in one
corner and risks being a one-off show.

“We should be doing more co-productions like this,” said
Berlin state ballet’s artistic director and first soloist
Vladimir Malakhov.

(Reporting By Sarah Marsh, editing by Gareth Jones and Belinda
Goldsmith)

BGA President Anton Boerner also said the euro zone debt crisis was weighing heavily on demand for German goods, with recession in southern Europe likely to worsen in the short-term, and expressed particular concern about Italy’s prospects.

“How the situation in the euro zone develops will be decisive for a sustainable improvement of trade,” Boerner told reporters in Berlin.

“I am increasingly pessimistic about the ability to reform of those countries particularly hard hit by the debt crisis.”

“The situation in Italy in particular promises nothing good, given that the main forces in society do not seem interested in comprehensive structural reform,” he added.

Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s new government was sworn in on Sunday and he will seek the backing of parliament in a vote of confidence later on Monday, months after an inconclusive election in the euro zone’s third largest economy.

Germany’s economy long proved resilient to the euro zone crisis that has sent much of the rest of the bloc into recession but it contracted in the final quarter of 2012.

Data now show Germany struggling to leave that gloom behind, especially because of weakness in the Chinese economy which had proved a strong alternative market for German exports.

The economy has not yet featured prominently in Germany’s election campaign but if it worsens significantly it could become a headache for Chancellor Angela Merkel as she seeks a third term in office in September.

The BGA cut its forecast for exports to a rise of 3 percent from a November forecast of 5 percent, with Germany’s share of global goods exports shrinking slightly.

The association also reduced its forecast for imports to a rise of just one percent from a previous estimate of 5.5 percent, mainly due to easing energy prices as well as favorable exchange rates.

“The recovery in the world economy is keeping us waiting and is set to be less dynamic than previously assumed,” Boerner said. “As such, the strong growth rates in trade that we had got used to in the past years are now a thing of the past.”

Trade will not contribute as usual to German growth this year, Boerner said, adding that he saw the economy expanding between 0.7 and 0.8 percent. This is above the government’s official forecast, which it raised last week by 0.1 percentage points to a meager 0.5 percent.

Boerner said he saw no short-term danger of a global race to depreciate currencies following Japan’s new policy of aggressive monetary expansion that has driven down the value of the yen.

(Additional reporting by Gernot Heller, editing by Gareth Jones)

Nasser Al-Khater, the organising committee’s communications and marketing director, also said the tiny gulf state would construct its stadiums with modular technology so it could downscale them after the tournament, and donate seating to countries with little sports infrastructure.

Al-Khater said the wealthy emirate already boasted the world’s first cooled stadium, albeit with traditional energy sources. Temperatures in Qatar can reach more than 40 degrees Celsius in the summer months.

“We showed (world governing body) FIFA how the cooling technology works, it was warm outside but in stadium was cold they wanted their jackets,” Al-Khater said during a trip to Berlin for a Qatari business and investment conference.

“So cooling a stadium is not the issue.”

The issue is that Qatar has promised to hold a carbon-neutral World Cup and so is researching solar-powered cooling technology. It will either create a central solar power farm or have individual ones installed in each of the 12 stadiums it is building, said Al-Khater.

“When you don’t use it for the stadiums you feed it into the grid,” he said.

The emirate developed a small, solar-powered prototype stadium seating 500 during the bid process but wants to develop more efficient technologies ahead of 2022.

“With solar, the big challenge is how do you deal with solar technology in the desert in terms of withstanding the elements and getting it clean so it is efficient,” Al-Khater said.

He said he had met several German companies during his trip to Berlin that had interesting proposals. Germany has been a pioneer in solar technology.

Many leading voices in football such as UEFA president Michel Platini have called for the World Cup to be held in December or January, when the average temperature is 17 degrees, rather than in the middle of the year.

Historically, the World Cup has always been held in June and July and any change could lead to a major scheduling headache with the major European leagues normally playing through the winter. Qatar’s right to stage the 2022 World Cup if the event is moved to the winter months would also be open to a legal challenge.

Al-Khater said Qatar would go ahead researching and installing the cooling technology either way as the stadiums would be used in the summer months even after the World Cup.

“Whether it is a winter or summer World Cup we will be ready,” he said.

Al-Khater said Qatar, a tiny country home to just 1.7 million inhabitants, was using modular seating for the upper tiers of its new stadiums in order to be able to downsize after the World Cup. “The idea is we will contribute the seats to countries that need to develop their sporting infrastructure.”

He said it was too early to discuss whether or not alcohol, which is legal in Qatar albeit under restrictions, would be allowed in the stadiums.

“One thing we want people to know is alcohol is not part of our culture,” he said. “And every World Cup you go to, people experience the local culture, its differences and similarities.”

Though led by a ruling family viewed as highly progressive by Gulf standards, the fact remains that most Qataris are very conservative. Most practice Wahhabism, the austere form of Islam also practiced in Saudi Arabia.

“We will come up with a solution that will keep everyone happy, so whether it means certain zones where alcohol is permitted, or another type of arrangement,” he said. “Around the world people are steering away from alcohol in the stadium.”

Al-Khater said he hoped hosting the World Cup would further bolster Qatar’s status as a sports hub in the region.

“Qatar is also a second home to many teams that find they cant host matches, for example it is home turf for Iraq for their qualifying matches,” he said. (Reporting By Sarah Marsh, editing by Justin Palmer)

Nasser Al-Khater, the organising committee’s communications and marketing director, also said the tiny gulf state would construct its stadiums with modular technology so it could downscale them after the tournament, and donate seating to countries with little sports infrastructure.

Al-Khater said the wealthy emirate already boasted the world’s first cooled stadium, albeit with traditional energy sources. Temperatures in Qatar can reach more than 40 degrees Celsius in the summer months.

“We showed (world governing body) FIFA how the cooling technology works, it was warm outside but in stadium was cold they wanted their jackets,” Al-Khater said during a trip to Berlin for a Qatari business and investment conference.

“So cooling a stadium is not the issue.”

The issue is that Qatar has promised to hold a carbon-neutral World Cup and so is researching solar-powered cooling technology. It will either create a central solar power farm or have individual ones installed in each of the 12 stadiums it is building, said Al-Khater.

“When you don’t use it for the stadiums you feed it into the grid,” he said.

The emirate developed a small, solar-powered prototype stadium seating 500 during the bid process but wants to develop more efficient technologies ahead of 2022.

“With solar, the big challenge is how do you deal with solar technology in the desert in terms of withstanding the elements and getting it clean so it is efficient,” Al-Khater said.

He said he had met several German companies during his trip to Berlin that had interesting proposals. Germany has been a pioneer in solar technology.

Many leading voices in football such as UEFA president Michel Platini have called for the World Cup to be held in December or January, when the average temperature is 17 degrees, rather than in the middle of the year.

Historically, the World Cup has always been held in June and July and any change could lead to a major scheduling headache with the major European leagues normally playing through the winter. Qatar’s right to stage the 2022 World Cup if the event is moved to the winter months would also be open to a legal challenge.

Al-Khater said Qatar would go ahead researching and installing the cooling technology either way as the stadiums would be used in the summer months even after the World Cup.

“Whether it is a winter or summer World Cup we will be ready,” he said.

Al-Khater said Qatar, a tiny country home to just 1.7 million inhabitants, was using modular seating for the upper tiers of its new stadiums in order to be able to downsize after the World Cup. “The idea is we will contribute the seats to countries that need to develop their sporting infrastructure.”

He said it was too early to discuss whether or not alcohol, which is legal in Qatar albeit under restrictions, would be allowed in the stadiums.

“One thing we want people to know is alcohol is not part of our culture,” he said. “And every World Cup you go to, people experience the local culture, its differences and similarities.”

Though led by a ruling family viewed as highly progressive by Gulf standards, the fact remains that most Qataris are very conservative. Most practice Wahhabism, the austere form of Islam also practiced in Saudi Arabia.

“We will come up with a solution that will keep everyone happy, so whether it means certain zones where alcohol is permitted, or another type of arrangement,” he said. “Around the world people are steering away from alcohol in the stadium.”

Al-Khater said he hoped hosting the World Cup would further bolster Qatar’s status as a sports hub in the region.

“Qatar is also a second home to many teams that find they cant host matches, for example it is home turf for Iraq for their qualifying matches,” he said.

(Reporting By Sarah Marsh, editing by Justin Palmer)

Nasser Al-Khater, the organising committee’s communications and marketing director, also said the tiny gulf state would construct its stadiums with modular technology so it could downscale them after the tournament, and donate seating to countries with little sports infrastructure.

Al-Khater said the wealthy emirate already boasted the world’s first cooled stadium, albeit with traditional energy sources. Temperatures in Qatar can reach more than 40 degrees Celsius in the summer months.

“We showed (world governing body) FIFA how the cooling technology works, it was warm outside but in stadium was cold they wanted their jackets,” Al-Khater said during a trip to Berlin for a Qatari business and investment conference.

“So cooling a stadium is not the issue.”

The issue is that Qatar has promised to hold a carbon-neutral World Cup and so is researching solar-powered cooling technology. It will either create a central solar power farm or have individual ones installed in each of the 12 stadiums it is building, said Al-Khater.

“When you don’t use it for the stadiums you feed it into the grid,” he said.

The emirate developed a small, solar-powered prototype stadium seating 500 during the bid process but wants to develop more efficient technologies ahead of 2022.

“With solar, the big challenge is how do you deal with solar technology in the desert in terms of withstanding the elements and getting it clean so it is efficient,” Al-Khater said.

He said he had met several German companies during his trip to Berlin that had interesting proposals. Germany has been a pioneer in solar technology.

Many leading voices in football such as UEFA president Michel Platini have called for the World Cup to be held in December or January, when the average temperature is 17 degrees, rather than in the middle of the year.

Historically, the World Cup has always been held in June and July and any change could lead to a major scheduling headache with the major European leagues normally playing through the winter. Qatar’s right to stage the 2022 World Cup if the event is moved to the winter months would also be open to a legal challenge.

Al-Khater said Qatar would go ahead researching and installing the cooling technology either way as the stadiums would be used in the summer months even after the World Cup.

“Whether it is a winter or summer World Cup we will be ready,” he said.

Al-Khater said Qatar, a tiny country home to just 1.7 million inhabitants, was using modular seating for the upper tiers of its new stadiums in order to be able to downsize after the World Cup. “The idea is we will contribute the seats to countries that need to develop their sporting infrastructure.”

He said it was too early to discuss whether or not alcohol, which is legal in Qatar albeit under restrictions, would be allowed in the stadiums.

“One thing we want people to know is alcohol is not part of our culture,” he said. “And every World Cup you go to, people experience the local culture, its differences and similarities.”

Though led by a ruling family viewed as highly progressive by Gulf standards, the fact remains that most Qataris are very conservative. Most practice Wahhabism, the austere form of Islam also practiced in Saudi Arabia.

“We will come up with a solution that will keep everyone happy, so whether it means certain zones where alcohol is permitted, or another type of arrangement,” he said. “Around the world people are steering away from alcohol in the stadium.”

Al-Khater said he hoped hosting the World Cup would further bolster Qatar’s status as a sports hub in the region.

“Qatar is also a second home to many teams that find they cant host matches, for example it is home turf for Iraq for their qualifying matches,” he said. (Reporting By Sarah Marsh, editing by Justin Palmer)