POPULOUS - Issue 5 by Alma Media International

POPart Over the last few years, Populous’s London office has been encouraging its employees to stretch their creative skills beyond architecture. The result is now a mini art scene which includes bi-annual exhibitions, a regular book and a short-listing in the World Architecture Festival’s 2010 Art and Work Awards. Here is a recent POPart piece by Van Tran, a Populous designer working on the Olympic overlay team.

Refuse Transport Station London Van Tran “This image revives the literary renderings of Charles Dickens’s waste-lined streets of London, coupled with the realities of modern living and the contemporary landscape of London. It shows a refuse terminal that spans the River Thames. There is irony in creating something that can be beautiful from something that was discarded and unsightly. This refuse terminal thrives and lives through degradation.”

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

ON THE CRICKET FIELD

HELLO 4

If you ever needed evidence of the power and influence of sport, just read our story about Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao. With ten world titles to his name,

LEFT FIELD Predicting future trends in live sport broadcasting.

he’s arguably the most successful pugilist on the planet. So popular is he in his own country that he now represents his region as congressman and many believe he may one day be president of the Philippines.

It is the power of sport that is depicted in many different ways throughout this issue. We look at

STEEPED IN DANGER Near vertical snow runs through rocky gullies or tight-packed trees. And watch out for those avalanches. Welcome to the crazy world of heli-skiing.

Qatar, for example, where the government’s decision to invest in sport has massively increased the global reputation of this modest emirate – just look at its successful bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In New York we examine the resurrection of the famous soccer team the New York Cosmos and their efforts to spearhead the progress of Major League Soccer in the United States. In motor sport we contrast the world’s two most significant codes – Formula 1 and NASCAR – learning how they managed to muscle their way to the top, but from completely dissimilar backgrounds.

FIGHTs FOR RIGHTS From street urchin to the most successful boxer on the planet, Manny Pacquiao may now even run for president of the Philippines.

On a completely different note, in our fashion feature we see how sport has even exerted its

NATION BUILDING THROUGH SPORT By investing in sport, the Arabian emirate of Qatar has seen its global reputation flourish beyond all expectation.

power on the nebulous world of fashion. There’s physical power, too, with our features on heli-skiing and cliff-diving. The risk and raw speed these people submit their bodies to is frankly terrifying. And now, with less than a year to go to the London Olympics, you can guess what the theme of our next issue will be. We hope you enjoy reading this one and the stories it contains as much as we enjoy telling them. The power of sport is a marvellous thing.

THE COSMOS ARE BACK! The New York Cosmos, that 1970s soccer team that fielded the likes of Pelé and Beckenbauer, is back in business after a 26-year hiatus.

Competing on the catwalk The story of how high fashion has come to draw inspiration from the world of sport.

SPLASH DOWN World cliff-diving champion Gary Hunt talks us through his 60-mph twists and somersaults. All from 30 metres up.

Enjoy reading,

WHO’S IN POLE POSITION? The amazing rise of blue-collar NASCAR and white-collar Formula One.

Rod Sheard

THE TALENT SPOTTERS How do Cirque du Soleil consistently unearth the most stunning circus acts on the planet?

HOSTILE TERRITORY Rocks, missiles, spittle and bullying tactics. Play Davis Cup tennis away in South America and you’ll get a lot more than yellow balls.

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8874 7666 Email: popmag@populous.com Web: www.populous.com Editor-in-chief: Rod Sheard Editorial team: Nick Reynolds Tom Jones Patricia Fernandez 2

WELCOME //

Populous magazine is published by: Alma Media International London, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 20 8944 1155 Email: info@almamedia.co.uk Web: www.almamedia.co.uk Publisher: Tony Richardson tony@almamedia.co.uk Editor: Dominic Bliss dominic@almamedia.co.uk Art direction and design: Deep www.deep.co.uk

A RACING CERTAINTY Lori Peterson, associate principal at Populous, on how a life around horses helps her design equestrian venues.

Images: Getty Images; Corbis; Red Bull; Action Images; Marc Jacobs; New York Cosmos; Cirque Du Soleil (Al Seib); Pamela Emil; TDWsport.com; AP Images.

© Alma Media International Ltd 2011 All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of Alma Media International is strictly forbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at the time of going to press, but we accept no responsibility for omissions or errors. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Alma Media International or Populous.

ISSUE FIVE

Populous magazine is sent to our clients and friends around the sporting world.

PEFC/16-44-002

UNSUNG HEROES Behind all great road cyclists are the ‘domestiques’, the sport’s great unsung heroes.

POP HISTORY The day Wills and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, visited Wimbledon. POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

LEFT FIELD //

THE ARCHITECTURE AND TECHNOLOGY OF PUBLIC VENUES IS EVOLVING FASTER THAN EVER. HERE WE BRING YOU SOME OF THE MOST EXCITING IDEAS OF THE NEAR, AND SOMETIMES DISTANT, FUTURE.

Action replay Goals, touchdowns, tries, boundary shots, winners down the line. Watch live sport and it’s these moments that are most exciting. So if you’ve paid for an expensive stadium ticket, shouldn’t you get to see them as often as you like, and from any angle you want? Plus, of course, all the extra facts, figures and statistics that sports fans so love. Perhaps the most innovative technology so far is – not surprisingly – in motor sport. Technology company FanVision now sells Formula 1 fans miniature video devices which receive race video, interviews, car-mounted

footage, instant replays and real-time driver statistics. They also offer similar services for 12 of the leading NFL American football teams. As you’d expect, the price is as elevated as the technology. British soccer club Arsenal FC are always keen to embrace modern technology. Last season they teamed up with Sony Professional to launch a wifi service for stadium spectators, offering live action footage, slowmotion replays from different angles, player profiles and match stats. Called Arsenal TV Matchday +, the service is available for a fee through Sony PlayStation portable devices.

Rugby union, rugby league and Australian rules football are among a number of other sports to offer spectator extras. Fans of the oval-ball sports can now eavesdrop live on conversations between match officials. One of the leading devices in Australia and New Zealand is called SportsEars – a personal radio which tunes into the microphone signals coming from referees, touch judges and umpires. “It not only demystifies the referee’s decisions, but informs, educates and entertains the viewing public at a game,” explains the inventor Murray Tregonning.

“You will hear all the calls from the men that know. Even if you are seated at the back of the grandstand, it puts you right in the action.” While all this technology is still in its infancy, it’s surely not long before every major sports event will offer extra footage and information to spectators. “When designing our venues, the challenge we face is to ensure that they have enough built-in flexibility to accommodate these new technologies,” explains a Populous spokesperson. “We want to make sure the live experience is really enhanced.” DJs can now transmit music to clubbers via wireless headphones.

Silence is golden

POP VIDEO... Watch the silent disco at this year’s Reading Festival in the UK.

Four hundred people gyrating in a totally silent room, all of them wearing big headphones. It’s an odd sight, but an increasingly common one as the phenomena of silent discos and silent gigs become more popular. Rather than using speaker systems, silent discos and gigs transmit music to fans via wireless headphones. Take the headphones off and you find yourself in near silence, with the pitter patter of dancing feet and humming the only sounds you hear. But what’s the point of it all? In nightclubs you’ll sometimes find different DJs competing for listeners. Club-goers can switch frequencies on their headphones, or change treble and bass, depending on their musical taste. Or if they fancy conversing with friends, they can remove the headphones altogether. Silent discos and gigs also circumvent noise curfews. British music festival Glastonbury, for example, staged a silent disco late

at night one year so as not to disturb other festival-goers and local residents who were sleeping. “By using headphones, the music in the venue can go on well into the night,” said festival organiser Michael Eavis. “We have been toying with this idea for years, trying to think of ways to combat the noise limits.” Orchestrated by a company called Silent Disco by 433FM, the Glastonbury experiment has now featured at music festivals all across Europe and in Brazil, China, Canada, Indonesia, Singapore, USA, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Other event organisers have followed suit. A club promoter in the Indian province of Goa, for example, has circumvented strict local authority restrictions on late-night partying. His guests are allowed to crank up the music as loud as they like, but only within their headphones. One event organiser – SilentArena, which claims to be “the world’s largest silent event

provider” – has branched out into silent gigs and silent cinema, too. The former have included a live music competition in Wales in 2008, with different bands playing simultaneously. The latter has allowed friends to watch two different films in the same cinema (a thriller for him and a rom-com for her?), and has been used to recreate the American drive-in experience, with the soundtrack broadcast direct to headphones in people’s cars. Now the concept is even being used in theatre. One British drama group, Feral Productions, has staged plays where audiences are led through city streets and around buildings in pursuit of actors who communicate to them through headphones. One production saw actors and audience moving through a multi-storey car park. Another led them into a children’s playground, a basketball court and woodland. Certainly beats a stuffy old theatre.

Formula 1 fans can now access live video, replays and statistics during a race. 4

LEFT FIELD //

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

THE COSMOS ARE BACK! SOCCER // The New York Cosmos, that legendary soccer team from the 1970s that fielded the likes of Pelé, Beckenbauer and Chinaglia, is back in business after a 26-year hiatus. Joe Boyle finds out what it means for U.S. soccer.

They have no pitch. They play in no league and haven’t done so in over 25 years. Hell, they haven’t even got any players. Yet, on August 5th, 2011, this shadow army BOXING // strutted out at Manchester United’s Old Trafford to appear in a testimonial match From street urchin to The for retiring United star, Paul Scholes. arguably the most Cosmos were back. The New York Cosmos dominated successful boxer on the American soccer’s attempt to establish a planet, Manny Pacquiao’s domestic league in the 1970s. They established is that classic rags astory reputation far exceeded theto league in riches. hespending may even run which they Now played by vast sums to attract some of the greatest, if ageing, names for president of the in the game. Now,Gareth the CosmosDavies, name is being Philippines. revived, with plans to enter Major League boxing correspondent for Soccer (MLS) in 2013. British newspaper The Daily There’s razzmatazz, branding and merchandise, but this is not an exercise in Telegraph, charts his rise. 6

CHEERLEADING SOCCER // THE COSMOS // MEN INARE A WOMEN’S BACK! WORLD

sentiment. The Cosmos left a lasting imprint on American soccer. The people behind their renaissance sense they could play an even greater role in the years to come. To understand how, you needManny to The extraordinary journey of boxer forget the pulsing masculinity of Pelé, Franzin Pacquiao, who started life as a street urchin Beckenbauer, Chinaglia and all. The a shanty townGiorgio in the Philippines, could Cosmos phenomenon was only partly about culminate in his becoming his nation’s the men, buffed It was largely president withinand the shining. next decade. about the women. women in the Astonishingly, thatThe view is shared by stands the drawn to this sport. The women common manfresh in those islands, as wellinspired as to participate at college level.film-makers The women who expert witnesses. Hollywood would graduate into such today’s “soccer might have rejected a script as moms” being too and in whose hands the future of the game in far-fetched. America partly rests. The story of the Cosmos Yet today, 18 years after Pacquiao is a story of emancipation. stowed away on a ferry boat from Mindanao to revival, announced in in August 2010, Manila,The where he sold doughnuts the streets has accompanied lashings of his for abeen penny apiece, and by hoped to find nostalgia. new kit echoes the original fortune as Umbro’s a boxer, Pacquiao is a global 1970s tailoring. Pelé is back honorary sporting star, beginning hisas career as a

president, telling the New York Times: “This is fantastic. We are working very hard to bring the beautiful game back to New York.” New York and MLS could do with the Cosmos. The league is a slow-burning venture, political figure. though Pacquiao attendances growing, increasingly left are home at 14 and started built around Hispanic community; in 2009, his new life inthe Manila in a rundown gym, 40 per cent of fans attended an MLS sleeping each nightwho on the ring canvas. He had game wereByHispanic. However, low TV no home. the age of 15 he was sending viewing figures league is ignored dollar notes backmean to histhe single mother and five across of the USA. From time it siblingsmuch thanks to earnings wontime withtohis gets a boost. flashing fists.David Beckham lifted the profile when hePacquiao, joined LA Galaxy in 2007, but inhis truth now 32, has entranced that was about player, notbut thealso team. Soccer nation with his the boxing skills, with his in its traditional European and South charisma and messianic desire to rid his native American is parochial, tribal, as a Philippinesheartlands of the poverty he experienced club-based. MLS’s franchise system, with child. The ever-smiling, God-fearing prize-its aura of now disposability, still sits uneasily in the fighter has crossover stardom in the global Only one side Unitedsoccer States,consciousness. is an eight-weight world has generated airelected of permanence. champion, andan was as a congressman POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

But the Cosmos have been mothballed since the North American Soccer League (NASL) folded in 1984. The name has been held since then by the team’s last general manager, G. Peppe Pinton, who was pressured to sell on a number of occasions. Pinton held out until the right offer arrived from people he trusted to uphold the traditions and legacy. Those people come with a background in English soccer, lead by Paul Kemsley, formerly vice-chairman at English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Kemsley proceeded to relaunch the Cosmos with the pizzazz of old. Along with Pelé, he enticed Eric Cantona to take the role of director of soccer. The Frenchman, once a maverick player, now a maverick actor, described the project as “kind of a mix between football and art”. The marketing is clearly working at a fevered beat with figures like Cantona and Pelé onboard. But more prosaic challenges lie ahead: finding a stadium, building a team and securing a slot in MLS. Should they secure the berth on offer in 2013, the Cosmos will be operating in an entirely different league structure from last time. In the 1970s, massive spending allowed them to dominate the NASL. The league, unbalanced by the presence of this behemoth in the midst of pygmies, soon started to list, before taking on water and finally sinking in 1984, dragging the Cosmos down with it. MLS is a different beast from the NASL. Budgets are centrally controlled, there is a salary cap, the Designated Player Rule restricts marquee signings. Building an MLS side now means building from the bottom. “Many clubs have made a significant investment in youth development, and that investment is beginning to pay dividends on the playing field,” says Dan Courtemanche, executive vice president at MLS. “FC Dallas has six players developed in the club’s youth academy, including Mexican under-17 World Cup goalkeeper Richard Sanchez. Also, rising stars such as the Red Bulls’ Juan Agudelo and D.C. United’s Andy Najar are recent academy products that are making their mark with their respective national teams.” If you’re talking youth development in American soccer, you’re inevitably talking about mothers, the heartbeat behind many junior teams. It’s impossible to consider the emergence of these soccer moms without talking about the Cosmos. The profile they created was particularly attractive to women who had found themselves excluded from the male-dominated big four US sports. Soccer provided them a sporting space of their own. Much of this glamorous profile was down to New York. The Cosmos name remains closely identified with the metropolis; subsequent attempts to attach the moniker to other cities have failed. New York embraced 8

SOCCER // THE COSMOS ARE BACK!

A league of their own Major League Soccer is growing in popularity. But the numbers are dribbling rather than shooting.

Gradual expansion Ten sides competed when MLS was formed in 1996. Now there are 18 teams with plans to expand to 20 by 2013. At the same time, the number of soccer-specific stadia has increased to 11, with three more scheduled to open by 2013.

Match attendances 2010 saw an average attendance of 16,675, up 4 per cent on 2009, and the third highest MLS has had. The big winners were New York Red Bulls whose attendance increased by 47 per cent. San Jose’s dropped by 31 per cent. Four clubs enjoyed over 90 per cent stadium capacity. MLS is now the 12th-best attended soccer league in the world.

Dutch soccer legend Johan Cruyff in an exhibition match.

TV viewing figures The 2011 MLS season opener between LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders drew a TV audience of 604,000, an increase of 112 per cent on the opening game of the previous season. That, however, failed to make the top 100 most viewed sporting events in the first six months of 2011. Only two soccer games made that top 100, neither of them from MLS: international matches featuring the USA national side, Mexico and Honduras.

Pelé is the new president, Eric Cantona the director of soccer.

An older Pelé returns to inspire younger fans.

the team. Mick Jagger, Henry Kissinger, Andy Warhol and countless others numbered amongst their fans. “These guys were guests of Studio 54,” says Andrei Markovits, professor of political science at University of Michigan and author of Gaming the World. “This was the disco era. They were stars, women flocked to them, they were almost the equivalent of the Yankees or Giants or Knicks.” Markovits, however, is adamant that the Cosmos’ impact should be seen in structural, national terms, rather than a localised, marketing exercise. To talk of the Cosmos as purely brand management is facile.

Marketing for the team’s new strip targets a younger fanbase of proud New Yorkers.

“This was the disco era. They were stars, women flocked to them, they were almost the equivalent of the Yankees or Giants or Knicks.” Andrei Markovits, author of Gaming the World.

POP VIDEO... See Pelé and the original NY Cosmos’ greatest goals.

“It’s a lazy European way of not engaging with America,” he says. “Of course there was branding, but the Cosmos bespeak a major cultural shift in America: the entrance of women in the public space, becoming a service-sector society, a post-industrial society and, in terms of its white middle-class, a suburban society.” The Cosmos’ emergence also coincided with a 1972 equal-rights legislation called Title IX. Educational institutions that received state funding could not discriminate between male and female sports. “Title IX brings women into college sport,” says

Markovits, “and that’s the birth of American women’s soccer. Soccer moms are the phenomenon of Title IX, the suburbanisation of America and this team called the Cosmos.” The New York Cosmos were the first truly global soccer brand, pre-dating modern giants such as Manchester United and FC Barcelona. The reincarnation is sure to go global as well. But the success of this new venture will be shaped in the domestic space.

“The Cosmos bespeak

Populous has designed many MLS stadia including Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City and a new home for Houston Dynamo.

Andrei Markovits, author of Gaming the World.

a major cultural shift in America: the entrance of women in the public space, becoming a service-sector society, a post-industrial society and, in terms of its white middle-class, a suburban society.”

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

HELI-BOARDING //

“You’ll be riding down super-steep hills at up to

Near vertical snow runs through rocky gullies or tight-packed trees. And watch out for those avalanches. Professional heli-boarder Wolle Nyvelt describes the thrills of using helicopters to ride the scariest mountain peaks, and explains why some want to ban his sport. By Nick Hutchings FROM Men’s Fitness magazine.

There’s one snowboarding expedition Wolle Nyvelt will never forget. His helicopter pilot flew him to the summit of a mountain in Alaska and, with nowhere flat to land, decided to bury the nose of the helicopter into a snowy ridge so that his passengers could leap off. The rotor blades were just inches away from the snow. “Suddenly the whole ridge gave way beneath the front of the chopper and turned into a massive avalanche,” remembers Nyvelt with a shudder. “Our pilot, a Vietnam vet called Al, didn’t bat an eyelid, though. He never panics. He just got us out of there super-fast.” A professional snowboarder from Austria, Nyvelt has made plenty of heliboarding expeditions during his 33 years. He regularly rides choppers to Alaska’s mountain ranges so he can descend some of the most remote and challenging snow runs in the world, often inaccessible by other means. He and his heli-boarding colleagues have become pretty shrewd judges of when a situation is about to go bad – and what to do when it does. Nyvelt is part of the world-renowned Absinthe Films snowboard crew, at the cutting edge of snowboard movie-making for the past decade. Their Alaskan jaunts normally comprise several professional snowboarders, a cameraman, a guide and, of course, a pilot. “In this environment you need to plan each day’s riding meticulously,” Nyvelt explains. “That’s to minimise the risk of injury or death when you’re out riding, but it’s also because helicopter fuel is incredibly expensive. An hour of flying costs around $2,500, so you don’t want to waste time flying around pointlessly.” The Absinthe Films boarders normally embark on their expeditions early in the morning so as to make the most of bright daylight. As long as their landing point is flat 10

HELI-BOARDING // STEEPED IN DANGER

80mph while avalanches are rumbling down the mountain to the side of you.” Professional heli-boarder Wolle Nyvelt.

Heli heaven While many European countries have banned heli-skiing and heli-boarding because of its impact on the environment, go far enough afield and you’ll find some superb back-country mountain peaks.

Haines, Alaska, USA This is where Nyvelt bases himself during the winter. A short helicopter ride from the local heliport gets you access to 750 miles of rideable terrain including savagely steep faces, massive natural jumps and nerve-janglingly tight chutes.

The Monashees, British Columbia, Canada

and firm, all the boarders can disembark at the same time. But on more precarious drops they have to be flown up one at a time, leap out of the helicopter, and sit tight on a mountain ridge, waiting for the helicopter to ferry the others up to join them. Once out of the helicopter, things can go seriously wrong in a heartbeat. “I was once on a ridge, looking at a run,” Nyvelt remembers. “There was a loud crack, and a load of snow broke away beneath me. I tumbled down the mountain with big chunks of snow running over me. Fortunately I kept my head above the snow and they dug me out when it stopped. When that happens you’re thinking, ‘I’m f***ed!’. If you can’t keep your head above the snow you just pray your avalanche transceiver works and that your friends can find you before you suffocate.” Given the terrain that heli-boarders (and heli-skiers, their double-planked colleagues) choose to negotiate – steep powder slopes, glaciers, natural jumps, narrow gullies with jagged rocks either side, and tightly-packed wooded sections – it’s hardly surprising that excitement and danger both figure highly. “The whole time you’re riding, you’re constantly on the edge of adrenalin overload,” Nyvelt says. “You’ll be riding down super-steep hills at up to 80mph while avalanches are rumbling down the mountain to the side of you.” But what of the environmental issues? Surely flying around mountain peaks in a gas-guzzling chopper is hard to justify when, with a bit of physical effort, you could hike to the same places? “Heli-skiing and heliboarding are ethically not acceptable,” says Rolf Meier, head of a ‘stop heli-skiing’ campaign, run by environmental group Mountain Wilderness. “180 litres of fuel per hour of flight are used to transport three

With the majority of the runs set in well-spaced forest, the Monashees offer tree runs galore for those who like a spot of back-country ducking and weaving. With around 20 metres of snow every year, powder-lovers will be happy.

Valle Nevado, Chile Valle Nevado has 25,000 acres of rideable terrain, but only 23 miles of official ski trails, which means there’s a hell of a lot of backcountry skiing to be enjoyed by those with access to a chopper. One of the highest runs you can do here starts at 4,200 metres above sea level and offers 2,400 metres of vertical descent.

persons. People should just put skins [special fabric] underneath their skis and climb a mountain.” Indeed, authorities in some European countries have secured bans on heli-skiing and heli-boarding. Nyvelt understands this sentiment but he believes that a heli-boarding trip can be far less damaging to the environment than critics suggest. “A month-long trip, which is normally how long I spend heli-boarding in Alaska each year, burns less fuel than a long-distance flight from Europe to Japan and back.” That’s in part because Alaska’s capricious weather means you rarely get more than two days of flying weather per week, and also because Nyvelt and his crew never cruise around in their bird just for the sake of it. Sometimes they can get much of their film footage in a few days. Without a helicopter they’d be forced to hike up the mountains or use snowmobiles which could take weeks longer. POP VIDEO... Check out the 2012 Absinthe Films extreme snowboarding trailer. POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

BOXING // From street urchin to arguably the most successful boxer on the planet, Manny Pacquiao’s story is classic rags to riches. Now he may even run for president of the Philippines. Gareth Davies, boxing correspondent for British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, charts his rise. 12

Boxing // Fights for rights

The extraordinary journey of boxer Manny Pacquiao, who started life as a street urchin in a shanty town in the Philippines, could culminate in him becoming his nation’s president within the next decade. Astonishingly, that view is shared by the common man in those islands, as well as expert witnesses. Hollywood film-makers might have rejected such a script as being too far-fetched. Yet today, 18 years after Pacquiao stowed away on a ferry boat from Mindanao to Manila, where he sold doughnuts in the streets for a penny apiece, and hoped to find his fortune as a boxer, Pacquiao is a global

sporting star, beginning his career as a political figure. Pacquiao left home at 14 and started his new life in Manila in a rundown gym, sleeping each night on the ring canvas. He had no home. By the age of 15 he was sending dollar notes back to his single mother and five siblings thanks to earnings won with his flashing fists. Pacquiao, now 32, has entranced his nation with his boxing skills, but also with his charisma and messianic desire to rid his native Philippines of the poverty he experienced as a child. The ever-smiling, God-fearing prizefighter now has crossover stardom in the United States, is an eight-weight world POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

Winning matches, winning votes Manny Pacquiao is the latest in a long line of former sports greats who have turned their skills to politics.

Jack Kemp: Quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, Kemp became a US congressman in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1996 he was nominated as a Republican vice-president.

Menzies Campbell A fine sprinter, this Scotsman (below) ran for the British team in the 1964 Olympic final of the 4 x 100 metres relay. 42 years later he led the UK’s Liberal Democrats party.

Bill Bradley

“Manny can transform the Filipino nation, rid the country of corruption and be seen as a true leader. This is an adventure far more important than landing with left and right hands in a ring.” Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter in the USA.

Congressman Pacquiao is adored by his compatriots.

champion, and was elected as a congressman for the province of Sarangani on a wave of popular support in the Philippine national elections last year. Many are predicting that a presidential campaign is only a decade away. Pacquiao has made a remarkable journey into his fourth decade. He has never lost the common touch, nor therefore the huge support he has from his compatriots. Guerrilla rebels lay down their arms in battle with the national forces when he fights. The country grinds to a halt as millions of Filipinos stop to watch the man known as Pambansang Kamao (The National Fist) go to war in the ring. Yet it is Pacquaio’s generosity to his people, helped by prize-fighting earnings of more than US$50 million, that endears him to them even more. 14

Boxing // Fights for rights

Vast queues form outside the compound of his house in General Santos City every time he returns from his fights in the United States. Beggars hold their hands out, knowing that Pacquiao always obliges. There is no welfare state in the Philippines. Some say the boxer has become exactly that himself, in a nation whose workforce earns on average a dollar a day. Gary Andrew Poole is the American author of the biography, PacMan. As part of his research he joined his subject’s 2010 election campaign. He found the boxer’s relationship with his compatriots compelling. “I went to see him in parliament, I went to speak to people who have known him from the beginning. It was staggering wherever we went. Thousands of people followed his every

move, kids were hanging from trees in every town square. Politicians can be incredibly boring. He certainly isn’t. I don’t speak his language, but when he got up there, it was like a rally every time he spoke. I had a translator. He told the people: ‘I’m one of you, I grew up like you, and I want to make a change.’” Poole says the crowd was totally devoted to Pacquaio. “Everyone there was transfixed like he was a rock and roll star, or a Martin Luther King figure. They really do look up to him. They even want to touch him, just touch his shirt, like it is touching God. And he is incredibly compelling. There’s something about him which speaks to everyone living in poverty.” Nick Giongco, one of the most respected boxing writers in The Philippines,

says Pacquiao is a worthy politician. “Manny is doing very well as a congressman. He has been living up to his promises and he has led the groundbreaking move to build a public hospital in his province. He has been making a lot of heads turn.” Chino Trinidad, a renowned sports broadcaster, added to that sentiment, but warned that Pacquiao must learn the skills of the tricky world of politics. “Manny’s sincerity is his true weapon in the political arena. But he could be used by other people in that arena pushing their agenda. I think he will learn this as he becomes more experienced in politics.” Granville Ampong, a respected Filipino writer on sport and politics, believes the congressman is already acquiring these skills.

“Pacquiao has developed an ability to put current events into a broader perspective,” he explains. “He may bring about a revolution with his unrelenting crusade for social change. He is becoming a more compelling figure in the egocentric world of politics.” Looking after Pacquiao’s affairs in the United States is Bob Arum, former promoter for Muhammad Ali in the 1960s. Arum has the increasing sense that the fighter-cumpolitician will further capture the hearts and minds of his people. He’s convinced Pacquiao will eventually become president, which he cannot do by law until he is 37 years old. The 80-year-old promoter reckons Pacquiao “can transform the Filipino nation, rid the country of corruption and be seen as a true leader.” He adds: “We all know this century is going to be Asia’s century, with China, India and Malaysia on the rise, and they can go with that wave. This is an adventure far more important than landing with left and right hands in a ring. In another era he could have been a leader. Had he come earlier in history he would have probably been the resistance leader against invading nations.” Arum sees Pacquiao’s potential influence as great as Muhammad Ali’s. “He is up there with Muhammad Ali. Here was Ali, a brilliant talent considered by so many to be a blowhard. People would not listen to him in the beginning about all the historic influence on race relations, on progress made in this country. But look how he changed people’s views on the Vietnam War. Without Ali there would not be a President Obama. Ali, in his way, had resonated far, far beyond his exploits in the ring. That is what Manny is about to achieve in The Philippines. He has started that journey and he is on the way to bringing great change.”

After a decade spent playing with the New York Knicks in the 1960s and 1970s, this basketballer became a US senator for New Jersey. He later tried to secure nomination for the 2000 election.

George Weah Paris Saint-Germain, A.C. Milan, Chelsea, Manchester City, Olympique de Marseille… this Liberian striker (below) played for them all. So well, he was voted ‘African Player of the Century’. As we went to press, he was standing as vice-president of Liberia with the Congress for Democratic Change.

Dick Spring Quite an all-rounder, this Irishman played top-level Gaelic football, hurling and rugby union, representing his national side in the latter. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s he was a member of the Irish parliament, with roles as deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

Oleg Blokhin As well as over 100 caps for the Soviet Union national soccer team, Blokhin holds the record for the number of goals scored in the Soviet league. In the early 2000s he was elected to Ukraine’s parliament.

Imran Khan A glorious cricket career culminated in his captaincy of the 1992 World Cup-winning Pakistan national side. He later formed his own political party and became a member of parliament in Pakistan.

Sebastian Coe Four Olympic medals, including golds in the 1500 metres at the 1980 and 1984 Games. In 1992 he was elected a member of the UK parliament. He now sits in the upper house of UK government, the House of Lords.

Giovanni Rivera This Member of the European Parliament was once one of Europe’s greatest footballers with over 500 appearances for A.C. Milan, 60 caps for his national side and a role in four World Cups. He was also elected to Italy’s parliament.

Alexis Arguello Three-time world champion in boxing, this Nicaraguan was elected mayor of his country’s capital city Managua in 2008. He died, apparently from suicide, a year later. POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

NATION BUILDING THROUGH SPORT Qatari sport // By staging major sports events, and investing in high-profile teams, the tiny Arabian emirate of Qatar has seen its global reputation flourish. Matt Cutler, editor of SportBusiness International magazine, explains how.

QATARI SPORT // NATION BUILDING THROUGH SPORT

Qatar suddenly became a global household name last December when FIFA president Sepp Blatter held aloft its name on a small piece of white paper, confirming it as the surprise host of the soccer World Cup in 2022. This was an historic moment for both soccer and the tiny emirate. But truth be told, it was only a real surprise outside sporting circles. Oil-rich Qatar, situated on the north-east coast of the Arabian Peninsula, has been part of the world’s sporting landscape for over a decade, and began hosting major sports events five years ago. Externally, sport provides both a political and economic connection with important nations all over the world. Internally, sport encourages the development of an infrastructure and a diversified economy, as well as unifying Qatar’s indigenous population through healthy and competitive activities. The sporting world first took serious notice of Qatar in 2006 when the Asian Games, the continent’s Olympicstyle multi-sport event, came to life in the capital Doha. 46 disciplines from 39 sports were staged at 21 competition venues across the city, with all 45 member nations of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) represented for the first time in the event’s then 55-year history. Just like FIFA, by awarding the Asian Games to Doha, the OCA was breaking new ground. Only once before had the Games been held in West Asia, never before in the Middle East, and Doha’s only previous hosting experience was the much lower-profile West Asian Games the year before. Never before had a country in the region staged anything on the scale of the 2006 Asian Games. Qatar passed its test with flying colours, proving it could compete with the big boys of the sporting world by bidding for, and successfully executing, a major sports event. The Qatari government spent US$2.8 billion on the organisation of the Asian Games, half of which went on building new and upgrading existing sports facilities. The resulting infrastructure rivalled that of even the most respected cities of Europe and the Americas. And thanks to their financial commitment and passion, the Qatari government earned enormous respect, not only in the Arabian Gulf and across Asia, but around the entire sporting world. POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

The Asian Games opened the floodgates for Qatar’s hosting ambitions. A number of major events and regular sporting fixtures followed: a leg of motorbike racing’s MotoGP since 2006; the seasonending WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Tour Championships from 2008 to 2010; a leg of athletics’ Diamond League in 2010 and 2011; and three meetings of handball’s inter-continental club championship, Super Globe. Not to mention the biggest sports event in Asia during the past year – soccer’s 2011 AFC Asian Cup. For rights-holders, the sporting ambition of Qatar is attractive since it enables them to reach a new, emerging market. Add to this sunny weather, modern facilities and a willingness to invest for the long term. According to Jamie Cunningham, head of leading Middle Eastern sports marketing company Professional Sports Group, the 2006 Asian Games was a watershed in Qatar’s sporting ambition. He says there is now “no question” that the international sporting community takes the emirate seriously as a high-class host. “Ultimately rights-holders need to maximise their commercial returns. Qatar has been on a list

alongside the likes of Abu Dhabi, China, Dubai, India and Singapore as an obvious new opportunity for rights-holders over the last decade. However, a rightsholder knows that Qatar delivers a good product, which is equally important to the financials.” Qatari state investment in sport reaches beyond its national boundaries, too. The Qatar Sports Investment Company (QSI), founded in 2005 by the Crown Prince of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, embarked on a European spending spree last December with its $235 million, five-and-a-half year global partnership with Spanish soccer giant FC Barcelona. Under the deal the Qatar Foundation, a charitable organisation chaired by the Emir’s wife, will be the club’s first ever paid-for shirt sponsor. Since then QSI has completed a $70 million, 70-per-cent takeover of fallen French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain, a deal that was sealed around the same time that Qatar’s state-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera acquired both international and domestic rights for France’s top soccer league Ligue 1. QSI’s mission statement is to create investment opportunities, the profits from which are channelled

The Qatari government spent US$2.8 billion on the organisation of the Asian Games. Thanks to their financial commitment and passion, they earned enormous respect around the entire sporting world.

back into Qatari sport in order to raise the country’s international profile. Deals in the last year or so have certainly seen the country forge strong political ties and credibility in both Spain and France. “In certain respects, the concept of twinned cities is not so important any more. Instead you buy and develop the local sports franchise,” Cunningham explains. “Motivations are similar across the Middle East. All the countries use experienced locals working for the royal families, with the support and advice of highly experienced ex-pats and/or international sports marketing agencies.” Returning to home soil, Qatar’s fervour for major events is far from flagging. The 12th Arab Games comes to Doha in December 2011 – Qatar edged out Lebanon in the race to host them because, according to the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees, the emirate would provide “more momentum and significance in light of the huge capabilities and world-class sports facilities which Qatar owns”. In 2015 Qatar will host the Men’s Handball World Championship. A bid for athletics’ 2017 IAAF World Championships is also in full throw. And let’s

not forget the big one: the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup. For the latter the government is building nine brand new stadia and upgrading three existing ones with a budget north of $3 billion that will also see the use of carbon-neutral technology to cool venues, fan fests and training sites. But soccer’s World Cup is over a decade away, and currently there is a much bigger event on the horizon: the 2020 Olympic Games. Is it possible Doha might launch a successful campaign to host the Games two years before the FIFA World Cup comes to town? “Probably,” says Cunningham. “The biggest challenge for the International Olympic Committee is the date question, because of the heat. But like FIFA, you cannot have a global event which has a raison d’être to develop sport internationally and never visit a certain region. The Arabian Gulf deserves a future Olympic Games.”

Gulf stream

The 2006 Asian Games opened the floodgates for Qatar to host major sporting events.

2006

Doha staged the 15th Asian Games – officially known as the XV Asiad – in Doha in December. For the first time ever all 45 member nations of the Olympic Council of Asia competed. China topped the medal table with 316 medals. Qatar came ninth with 32.

Populous is working on a number of projects in Qatar and has recently completed the spectacular Qatar National Convention Centre in Doha. 2008 to 2010

Doha hosted the year-end championships in women’s tennis, the WTA Championships, for three years running.

2011

Soccer’s 2011 AFC Asian Cup was staged at five stadia across Qatar. The host nation reached the quarter-finals. Japan won overall.

2011

Doha will host the 12th Arab Games in December. A total of 22 nations are scheduled to compete.

2020

As we went to press there were suggestions that Qatar may bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.

2022

Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup at 12 venues across the country. It will be the first time the World Cup is staged in the Middle East. POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

The Emir of Qatar (above) and fans (right) celebrate winning the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

World champion Gary Hunt leaps into action in Greece (above) and Mexico (right).

CLIFF DIVING // From 30 metres up, the world’s most skilled cliff divers rocket into the water at 60mph. They have just three seconds to perform their twists and somersaults. Red Bull cliff-diving world champion Gary Hunt tells Dominic Bliss how it’s done.

CLIFF DIVING // SPLASH DOWN

It’s crucial you enter the water at exactly the right angle. Just a few degrees off the vertical and you risk whiplash, severe bruising, even broken bones. Botch it completely with a belly flop and the impact could kill you. “We’re travelling at 60mph when we hit the water, so if you land anywhere apart from vertical you’re really going to feel the slap of the water,” says Gary Hunt, current champion in the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, the leading competition in the sport. “The worst-case scenario is to get internal bleeding from landing flat on the water. But there’s nobody doing this sport who hasn’t had years of experience, so these accidents are very rare.”

Gary has more experience than most. He’s been high diving from heights of close to 30 metres ever since he got a job at an Italian theme park in 2006, and for many years before that he competed in international competitions (including the Commonwealth Games) from 10-metre boards. Nowadays he works at a theme park in the French city of Metz. Dressed as a Caribbean pirate, he has to perform all sorts of swashbuckling stunts, culminating in a dive from the highest board at the end of the show. But it’s in just his swimming trunks that he does his most technical and competitive diving. Along with 11 other daredevils he travels the globe on the Red Bull series, showing off his twists and somersaults.

The diving platforms, often on or near famous monuments, are built up to 28 metres above the water, giving competitors just three seconds in which to complete their moves. All divers have to enter the water feet first. Points are awarded according to the style of take-off and entry into the water, and the number and position of somersaults and twists. All of which makes for dynamic spectating. A recent event in the French city of La Rochelle saw a 70,000-strong crowd cheering on the divers’ acrobatics. The loudest cheers of all were for Hunt. Well ahead in points of the other 11 divers in the series, he believes his experimentation with technique, even back when he was doing the more structured diving under the auspices of FINA (the international swimming federation), has helped him outstrip his peers. “I was always willing to try the dives that other people didn’t want to try,” he explains. “After my FINA training I would stay and try some of the crazy dives; dives that weren’t good for my FINA training but which have given me a great sense of spatial awareness. I wanted to learn every single dive there was.” Had you watched Hunt in action at one of the 12 stops on the Red Bull series this year (Norway, Italy, Switzerland, Hawaii, Easter Island, Greece, France, Italy, USA, Ukraine and

“The worst-case scenario is to get internal bleeding from landing flat on the water.” WORLD CLIFF-DIVING CHAMPION GARY HUNT.

Mexico, twice, all featured this year), you’d have seen just how many techniques he has in his repertoire. Fly dives, interrupted dives, baranis and blind entries… he executed them all with aplomb. Back in 2009, in Turkey, he performed what is now considered the most difficult dive in the sport’s history: three somersaults and four twists. A year later, in Italy, he threw in a running take-off so as to have room for four somersaults and two and a half twists. He completed the dive, but only just, landing off the ideal vertical position. “I didn’t have enough time in the air,” he remembers. “I landed in the water with my chest and neck stuck out. It gave me severe whiplash and winded me.” Hunt was taken to hospital but recovered fully in a matter of weeks.

Other cliff divers aren’t so lucky. The worst high-diving accident Hunt has heard of occurred in 2008 when two-times world cliff-diving champion Joey Zuber was doing a photo shoot in Colombia. After diving 16 metres into a lake, the Australian barreled into the water so fast that he struck the lake bed, snapping his right thigh bone in two. Emerging from the water he noticed his leg was bent at a 90-degree angle. He was forced to yank it back to a straight position. “I thought to myself I’ve ruptured my femoral artery. I’m dead,” he remembers. An air lift to hospital was impossible “due to the risk of cocaine guerrillas shooting at the helicopter”, so Zuber then endured a nine-hour ambulance ride on dirt roads to the nearest infirmary. No pain relief was available. In the end he suffered a broken hip, further thigh fractures and acute kidney failure. Months later he had to have his right leg re-broken because it healed so much shorter than the left. Zuber now presents TV programmes, but one day he plans to return to the scene of his horrific accident to dive once more. “Fear is part of the thrill,” he says. “It’s necessary to have fear to keep you alert and alive.”

POP VIDEO... Meet world champion Gary Hunt, and see him in action.

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

Sport in fashion // For the last century or so, high fashion has increasingly used sport as a source of inspiration. Today this than ever, as Stephen Doig,

D&G

relationship is stronger fashion writer for British publications Harperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bazaar, The Daily Telegraph and Financial Times, discovers.

sport in fashion // competing on the catwalk

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

In 1967 an ambitious young man named Ralph Lifshitz launched a range of ties, selling them from a hotel boutique in New York. Hailing from the notorious Bronx projects, he had grown up watching the posh Hamptons set migrate from the city each season and return fresh from country clubs, polo matches and clam bakes. An idea was born and, in the early 1970s, the freshly renamed Ralph Lauren launched Polo Ralph Lauren, his aim to sell the preppy lifestyle of the East Coast elite to the rest of the world. Creating the now iconic emblem of a polo player astride his horse immediately plunged his line into the fresh, Ivy League world that this kid from the Bronx had sought so hard to be a part of. Of course, in the 1970s, the marriage of sport and fashion was not a new concept. It’s one that had proved fruitful throughout the 20th Century, and

This season the collections are as sporty as ever. Look at Chanel’s mannish, heavy tweeds, Lanvin’s striped football shirts and Givenchy’s fur-collared and hooded ski-style jackets.

of player, was swiftly adopted by those in the polo profession. The polo shirt, later monopolised by Ralph Lauren, was born. Today, the world’s most highly regarded designers have embraced sport as a way to strengthen their brand, reach new audiences and expand their design repertoire. One of the most successful in recent years has been Stella McCartney’s collaboration with adidas – a collection of body-conscious, sleek pieces. Then there’s Alexander McQueen. While the late designer’s dark Victoriana and theatrical gowns might not seem to have a place in the sporting arena, in 2009 he teamed with trainer brand Puma, creating shoes emblazoned with intricate print, rubber webbing, scales and fangs. Ski wear has long been a source of inspiration to designers, too, from Dolce & Gabbana to Chanel and Prada.

This season the collections are as sporty as ever. Look at Chanel’s mannish, heavy tweeds, Lanvin’s striped football shirts and Givenchy’s fur-collared and hooded ski-style jackets. But perhaps the most humorous and striking take on sport in recent catwalk collections is Prada’s nod to the putting green. For her spring/summer 2012 men’s show, Prada sent out golfer attire reworked for the 21st century, with boldly printed trousers and diamond patterns dominating. All of which proves that sport and fashion’s yin and yang is still very much in force.

POP VIDEO... See Dolce & Gabbana’s ski girls on the runway.

Amaya

CHANEl

STELLA McCARTNEY

sport in fashion // competing on the catwalk

MARC JACOBS

BURBERRY

ADIDAS 24

continues today. When Coco Chanel became the love interest of the glamorous socialite and polo player Boy Capel, he not only propelled the young designer into a social strata she could only dream of, but he introduced her to something that has become integral to the Chanel DNA: horse riding. At Capel’s country chateau, Chanel became fascinated by the gentlemanly attire required for the upper-class pursuit. Mannish silhouettes, heavy tweeds and riding trousers all found their way into her collections, continuing today at the house under Karl Lagerfeld’s stewardship. Around the same time, René Lacoste, a top French tennis player, was growing weary of the stiff, formal shirts required on court. His solution? To take out the scissors himself and get cutting. He fashioned a soft cotton, short-sleeved sweater with a collar. The design, which proved a hit with all levels

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

“We draw from all kinds of different disciplines. Anything from synchronised swimming, to trick cycling, to inline skating.” Stacy Clark, Cirque du Soleil’s acrobatic talent scout.

The Talent Spotters Cirque du Soleil // Cirque du Soleil consistently showcases some of the most stunning circus acts on the planet. But where and how are these acts discovered? Paul Henderson, from GQ magazine, finds out. 26

Cirque du Soleil // The talent spotters

It all started on the street. Guy Laliberté, the head of Canadian entertainers Cirque du Soleil, was a young, fire-breathing, stiltwalking, pavement showman who decided to turn his passion for performing into something far, far bigger. In 1984 he was given a grant to create a human circus show that would be part of the celebration for Quebec’s 450th anniversary, turning his love of dance, circus arts, athleticism and street entertainment into what today is the internationally renowned, and often jaw-dropping, Cirque du Soleil. Estimates are that more than 75 million people around the world have experienced a Cirque show (some of the shows tour, others have a fixed location), and in 2010 the company was rumoured to have made over US$800 million in revenue. It’s a creative juggernaut that shows no signs of slowing,

powered by some of the most talented performers on Earth. Over the years Cirque has scoured the planet in its search for the most amazing showmen and women it can find. It now has over 4,000 artists from more than 40 countries at its disposal, but it’s still searching. “When it comes to casting, what we are always looking for is that ‘wow!’ factor,” says Rick Tjia, Cirque’s senior artistic talent scout for dancers. “And that doesn’t necessarily have to be technical ability. It can be very subtle. They have to have something special that can bring a new show to life.” To find their performers, Cirque talent scouts study audition clips, arrange try-outs, attend competitions and shows, and visit towns all over the planet. “There are certain places in the world that you know will produce certain styles,” says Tjia. “For example, if you want hip-hop dancing in Western Europe, you know that France and Germany are really strong. Another hot area is Korea. Their breakdancing is just blowing up at the moment.” Tjia has also explored Eastern Europe. “We have three dancers from Georgia – Badri Esatia, Temur Koridze and Khvicha Tetvadze – who are almost acrobatic in what they do,” he explains. “Passionate, explosive, they can dance on their toes without hard shoes, and their style of folk dancing is distinct to that area of Eastern Europe.” Similarly, in Romania, Tjia discovered a form of dancing that is like body percussion, but at a speed and a level of precision that hasn’t been seen anywhere else in the world. For Stacy Clark, Cirque’s acrobatic talent scout, any source of athletic prowess can be utilised for a show. “We draw from all kinds of different disciplines,” she explains. “Anything from synchronised swimming, to trick cycling, to inline skating. They are usually sport-derived, but not always. And some people might have already moved from a sporting arena into circus arts. For example, take a discipline like parkour – or free-running – that mixes gymnastics with street performance. That really lends itself to what we are looking for.” Having recruited from Olympians and professional gymnasts, Clark knows exactly where to hunt for specific talents. Mongolia, for example, produces some of the world’s best contortionists; in China and Eastern Europe the athletes tend to be lighter, with a smaller build. For stronger, more power-based athletes, she looks to Western Europe and North America. Latin America produces “powerful, but very springy body types who are light on their feet.” The Latin Americans also tend to be fearless, as embodied in Sabu Alegria, the

Cirque’s quirks If it’s unusual acts that you’re after, then Cirque du Soleil is the perfect stage.

Grigor and Valentyna Pahlevanyan, stars of Corteo Little people, Grigor and Valentyna, were discovered by the director of Corteo during a trip to Israel. Artists from the Ukraine, they were working together on Zeynard’s Lilliputian Circus.

Baasansuren Enkhbaatar, star of Alegria In 2006 Cirque du Soleil organised auditions in Mongolia in search of circus acts and contortionists. They had a large turn-out, but the woman who shone most brightly was Baasansuren Enkhbaatar.

Alan Jones Silva, star of Zumanity Born into a circus family in Brazil, Alan is a dwarf who has been performing since the age of six. His circus speciality is aerial performances with ropes and silk. His Cirque du Soleil premiere was in 2003.

Mexican Cirque star who started swinging from the trapeze at the age of nine. Today Alegria works the Wheel of Death in the Cirque show KA in Las Vegas, one of the most dramatic and spectacular routines created. The quest for new and original talent is never-ending. Right now Clark plans to explore Africa, visiting little-known villages in the search for more acrobats. “There is a real tradition of unique acrobatics in Africa,” she says. “It is music and culture infused. It’s very exciting.” Cirque du Soleil may be a milliondollar global entertainment company, but its individual performers still very much espouse that spirit of street performance. Just like the circus’s founder, Guy Laliberté. POP VIDEO... Watch former USA Olympian Raj Bhavsar talking about his career move to Cirque du Soleil.

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

F1 poster boy Lewis Hamilton and NASCAR hero Tony Stewart.

WHO’S IN PO LE POSITION? MOTOR RACING // NASCAR and Formula 1: arguably the two most culturally important motor sports on the planet. Blue-collar NASCAR dominates the USA, while white-collar Formula 1 cleans up everywhere else. Henry Hope-Frost, from motor racing magazine Autosport, discovers how two contrary sports have risen to the top.

6 28

CHEERLEADING Motor sport ////Who’s MEN INinApole WOMEN’S position? WORLD

Ask European motor sport fans which category tops the championship hierarchy and, nine times out of 10, they will say Formula 1. This billion-dollar, super-high-tech carnival of noise and speed that rivals the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games for bums-on-seats viewing figures is beamed into millions of households during prime-time, Sunday-afternoon slots every fortnight

between March and November. It has created mega-rich, household-name superstars out of its top drivers. Whichever age bracket you fall into, chances are you’ve heard of Stirling Moss or James Hunt, Nigel Mansell or Lewis Hamilton. F1 fans may reasonably argue, then, that everything else on wheels plays second fiddle to the FIA Formula One World Championship. It’s the pinnacle of the sport

and the ultimate manifestation of the ‘Win-onSunday, sell-on-Monday’ philosophy that’s so vital to the hundreds of commercial brands pouring huge amounts of cash into the mobileadvertising game that F1 has become. But suggest as much to American motor sport devotees and they’ll be shaking their heads before you’ve finished speaking. In the United States there’s one category of motor sport that blows all other rivals off the track: POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

29 7

Monte-Carlo, one of the many glamorous destinations on the F1 circuit.

NASCAR (the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing). For American race fans, NASCAR is king. Rivalling basketball, baseball and American football for American sports fans’ attention – and there’s an awful lot of them – stock-car racing can trace its origins to the 1930s (long before F1, as we know it, began) when young chargers revelled in outrunning the law with moonshine sliding around in the trunks of their modified Buicks and Lincolns. It wasn’t long before that energy was channelled into sanctioned racing. By June 30

Motor sport // Who’s in pole position?

1949, less than a year before F1’s wheels began to roll on the other side of the Atlantic, a sporting and cultural way of life in southern America had begun in the form of an eightround stock-car championship. Fast forward over 60 years and these two diametrically opposed series dominate the landscape in their respective territories: F1 everywhere but America (although it tried unsuccessfully to find a spiritual home across the pond at nine different circuits), with NASCAR filling that void. Comparisons between the two are very

“NASCAR adopts an open-

Stock-car racing can trace

house policy, where fans

its origins to the 1930s

can get close to cars and

(long before F1, as we know

drivers, while F1 thrives on

it, began) when young

its aura of inaccessibility.

chargers revelled in

That approach, by F1,

outrunning the law with

creates demand.”

moonshine sliding around

Steve Hallam, vice-president at Michael Waltrip Racing.

in their trunks.

difficult. Firstly, the cars are motor sport’s chalk and cheese. F1 cars are other-worldly, sophisticated, purpose-built, computerdesigned rocket ships – the fastest machines still in contact with the ground. NASCAR racers are production-based, with big, brash, carburettor-fed V8 engines and nothing in the way of electronic trickery. Secondly, NASCAR drivers are all home-grown. They grow up in and around stock-car racing, and graduate to the top-class Sprint Cup Series while still dabbling in the second-tier Nationwide Series and the third-tier Truck Series. They haven’t experienced racing outside the USA. Indeed, all they know – and care about – is NASCAR. That alone adds weight to the purists’ argument that NASCAR is nothing more than gloss-painted club-level banger racing. Thirdly, there are the differences in the two sports’ demographics. F1 has always been perceived as a rich man’s game. When it began in the 1950s, members of the aristocracy and upper classes could buy a state-of-the-art car such as Maserati’s 250F from the factory, don a leather helmet and a pair of flying goggles, and swan off around Europe trying to keep out of the way of the likes of Stirling Moss in identical machinery. To this day, drivers who reach F1 in their early 20s (Sebastian Vettel won the 2010 world title aged 23 – the youngest in history) mostly hail from rich families, their junior single-seater racing paid for by the family cash. This white-collar elitism rubbed off on those people who followed the sport, whether it was spectators or benefactors. It’s less apparent these days, since F1’s global appeal extends from royalty and celebrities, all the way down to the man in the street. In NASCAR, drivers come from cut-and-thrust, low-budget midget or sprintcar racing on dirt tracks, where they learn car control and race craft and take home a bit of prize money. Only when they make it to NASCAR and win races do they take on a cult following and pocket vast sums of money for their efforts. That same path is trodden by the

NASCAR fans (above) represent a non-nonsense blue-collar image, while F1 fans (left) are often from wealthy backgrounds.

fans. They keenly follow one driver, sticking with him, and absorbing that ordinary-manmade-good aura that pervades NASCAR. It’s not just comparisons between the two sports that are tricky. The reasons why F1 and NASCAR can co-exist and both be so successful are difficult to pinpoint. One man who has first-hand experience of both, and can therefore offer a few suggestions, is British engineering heavyweight Steve Hallam. Hallam spent 25 years in F1, with top teams Lotus and McLaren, working alongside the likes of world champions Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Mika Hakkinen. A move to NASCAR for 2009, when he took on the role of vice-president and director of competition at top team Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR), presented him with a huge culture shock of his own. When pushed to articulate the key differences, remembering that both sports draw huge crowds, both attract multi-national

corporations whose marketing campaigns pay for the show, and both feature the best drivers, Hallam hits the nail on the head. “The fundamental difference between F1 and NASCAR is accessibility,” he says. “NASCAR adopts an open-house policy, where fans can get fairly close to cars and drivers, while F1 thrives on its aura of inaccessibility. That approach, by F1, creates demand. Being told you can’t come in – even if you offer money – makes you want to get in more. It adds to the desire to be on the other side of the fence. The other thing is that NASCAR is a people sport, where F1 is more akin to technology warfare.” Hallam is also well aware of the white-collar/blue-collar comparisons that are bandied about. “The loyalty is amazing in NASCAR,” he admits, “and those fans worship their drivers – even to the point of booing and, in extreme cases, throwing beer bottles at rivals. Confrontation between the drivers is encouraged, too. In fact it’s integral to

NASCAR and the show. And some drivers are better at it than others.” Despite the cultural, technological and geographical chasm that exists between F1 and NASCAR, both series continue to thrive and don’t appear to even want to tread on each other’s toes. There’s clearly room for both. If you’ve been lucky enough to have stood trackside in the millionaires’ playground of Monte-Carlo as F1 cars scream past the super-yachts and super-rich with inches to spare, or if you’ve been perched high up in the stands with 160,000 other jeering, beerswilling, burger-chomping NASCAR fans at Bristol’s floodlit half-mile oval in Tennessee, then you’ll know why. Populous has worked with several NASCAR race venues and Formula 1 circuits. Most recently it completed the track redesign, pit lane and paddock buildings at Silverstone in the UK. POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

We were sworn at, had things hurled at us, spat upon. I want police protection. The people here are like animals.” AUSTRIAN PLAYER Thomas Muster.

TENNIS // Rocks, missiles, spittle and bullying tactics. Play Davis Cup tennis away in South America and you’ll get a lot more than yellow balls flying at you. why DO matches often turn so bloodthirsty?

Austrian world No.1 Thomas Muster played on every great tennis stage there was during his career, and knew how to grind out matches against the very toughest of opponents. But nothing on Earth prepared him for the 1996 Davis Cup tie he spearheaded for Austria away against Brazil. On the second day of the international team match he was competing alongside countryman Udo Plamberger in the doubles. The match was neck and neck from the start, and when the score reached two sets apiece the already boisterous Sao Paulo crowd started getting restless. Some were seen throwing objects onto the court, and using wristwatches or mirrors to reflect sunshine into the Austrian players’ eyes. Genteel Wimbledon Centre Court this was not. Incensed, Muster stormed off the court at two-love down in the deciding set, and refused to play on. “It was absolutely impossible for me to go out on court again,” he said. “For three and a half hours we were sworn at, had things hurled at us, spat upon. 32

TENNIS // HOSTILE TERRITORY

I want police protection and will never again play here. If this is Davis Cup, I don’t want anything more to do with it. The people here are like animals.” When Austria abandoned the tie altogether the following day, victory was handed to the Brazilians. If this sounds extreme then spare a thought for the USA team that travelled to Paraguay in 1987 and found themselves competing in front of the country’s infamous dictator, President Alfredo Stroessner and his armed guard of militiamen. Throw in a 5,000-strong screaming, jingoistic crowd, two ear-splittingly loud courtside bands, and anti-Yankee chants… and you get an idea of just what the Americans were up against. At one point a Paraguayan official tried to intimidate the match referee. “You obviously want the Americans to win,” he said as his own line judges penalised the visiting players with fictional foot faults. “Your actions will jeopardise international relations.” To find out what it’s really like to compete in front of a hostile South American crowd, you need to hear from the Davis Cup players themselves. In his recent book Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match, top American Davis Cup player Cliff Richey remembers his 1967 tie against Ecuador, particularly the fifth rubber after the home team had already won overall. “With no tickets left for the matches, Ecuadorian students, who wanted to be part of the celebration of the upset win over the Americans, were trying to break into the stadium,” he wrote. “The students proceeded to throw rocks onto the court as I was playing. Rocks began raining down from everywhere. The crowd nearly rioted on changeovers. This wasn’t the glamorous world tour I thought I had signed on for!”

Latin people are notorious for being passionate, never more so than when watching sport. Anyone who’s been to a Brazil football match will concur. “You have a strong football culture in South America, much more passionate than in Europe,” explains Sebastian Fest, an Argentinean sports journalist now working in Madrid. “This goes for tennis, just as much.” Fest believes deep knowledge of tennis among spectators, and a huge number of amateur players means South Americans as a whole follow the sport more closely than Europeans do. While in Europe and North America many tennis tournaments are broadcast on pay TV, in South America there’s a huge amount available on free or cheap cable TV. Granted, there are no Grand Slams or top-level men’s or women’s tournaments staged anywhere across the continent, but ironically this makes fans all the more tennis-hungry when the international team competition of Davis Cup – whatever its level – comes to town. According to Fest, however, there’s another major reason for tennis passion in his home continent: it’s a chance for Latin people to humiliate the world’s culturally stronger nations. “Sport matters so much in South America because our countries have not always been as successful as the USA or European ones,” he says. “Sport gives us the chance to beat the big, developed nations.” One player who certainly knows all about that is Austria’s Thomas Muster. Populous-designed venues have hosted many Davis Cup ties, and not just at the Grand Slam venues of Wimbledon and Melbourne. Tropicana Field, a baseball stadium in Florida, hosted the 1990 Davis Cup final between the USA and Australia.

Davis Cup fans from Argentina and (top left and right) Brazil get boisterous. POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

A life spent around horses has taught Lori Peterson, associate principal at Populous, exactly what design is needed at the world’s best equestrian sports venues.

HORSE RACING //

A RACING CERTAINTY She’s seen the crazy horsemen of Il Palio in Italy. She’s rubbed shoulders with Europe’s elite at hippodromes in the south of France. She’s won (and lost) on the Kentucky Derby. Her own Thoroughbreds have competed at Saratoga. Lori Peterson has witnessed some of the greatest equestrian events the world has to offer. Associate principal in Populous’s Kansas City office, Lori has been around horses “since as far back as I can remember”. Growing up on her parents’ farm near the Kansas town of Scandia, she first started handling horses not long after she learned to walk. As well as arable and cattle farming, her parents bred several horses which the young Lori helped to raise and break in. Inevitably, much of her time was spent astride these beasts. As well as trail riding, Lori also competed at amateur level in various western riding disciplines such as barrel racing, working cow horse and western pleasure. “Much of my lifestyle revolved around horses,” she remembers. “I always had enormous passion for the animals.”

Photo: Pamela Emil

“People fall in love with

HORSE RACING // A RAcing certainty

the winning horses. Yet at most racing events there is very little opportunity to celebrate the horses’ victories.”

Now, with Populous, Lori is able to indulge that passion again through her design work with professional horse-racing venues. Currently she is part of the team working on the masterplan for the redevelopment of Keeneland, in Kentucky, one of the most historic horse-racing and sales venues in North America. Occupying a huge site in the outskirts of Lexington, it is home to some of America’s most important Grade 1 races. Lori is convinced her equestrian background gives her insights other architects wouldn’t have. One of the key new features she and her team have suggested is a post-race paddock where racing fans can celebrate with the winning horses. “People fall in love with the winning horses,” she explains. “The extraordinary beauty of the animals always captures their imaginations. Yet at most racing events there is very little opportunity to celebrate the horses’ victories. At the Kentucky Derby, for example, you take a few photos of the winning horse and immediately he’s taken away. I suggested to Keeneland that they allow fans to see the horses after their wins, and to have more of a taste of the victory. Just like they would with human athletes.” Lori and her team devised a masterplan where winning horses would be led from the finish line to a small post-race paddock, away from the other horses; a landscaped area where fans could take photos and share the horse’s victory. “Just a few minutes,” Lori adds. “You have to be careful. These are sensitive animals.”

Another area where Lori used her equestrian experience was with the designs for visitor movement around the Keeneland site. “Horse racing, much more than any other sport I know, is all about the lifestyle and social side of the event. Race-goers want to meet up with their friends and colleagues. They don’t want to be shut up in a box by themselves, like at an American football game.” Which is why Lori has suggested a radical change in the layout of Keeneland, with easier access between the car parks, the spectator sections, the dining facilities, the paddocks and the finish line. “We’re trying to create a country club atmosphere,” she says, “but one where it’s easy to navigate the gigantic crowds and have a pleasant experience on race day.” Working with horse-racing venues has reignited Lori’s love for the four-legged athletes. She currently owns several Thoroughbred racehorses which she stables at Saratoga Springs, in New York State. And after a visit to the Spanish city of Cadiz last summer, where she saw the Andalusian horses used in bull-fighting, she now has plans to invest in this breed. “That’s my next conquest.” Unfortunately, the travel constraints of her Populous job mean Lori has the chance to ride horses only a handful of times a year. “It’s a shame,” she says. “I’d love to find a way to cut down the air travel and travel on horseback instead.” Not very practical, given the number of times she has to criss-cross the United States every year for work. POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

yal e lo r a ist / cycl NG / I n d L a C now ro CY k m, t a s te re er gha a g n i m y r m e spap er a h v w t e e e t o n F es nd ed iam itish g hero l Behi erlook r l i B un s’. W nt for ov uns ique e But e t d s s n e e th po om rres ebrates as ‘d o c ing cel ian, cycl d r Gua t. The por s s i of h

CYCLING // UNSUNG HEROES

POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

CYCLING //

Sport’s unsung heroes Behind some of the world’s greatest athletes are team-mates who know they will never receive the praise they truly deserve. Wing men in their sport, they may play second fiddle to their champions, but without them victory is impossible.

Golf caddies

More than simple bag-carriers, caddies offer encouragement and advice on club selection, technique and course layout. Until recently Tiger Woods employed Steve Williams (below) as his caddy. Given his boss’s huge prize money over the 12 years they were together, it’s likely this New Zealander is the highest-earning sportsman his country has ever produced.

The HTC-Highroad team get to work on the Tour de France.

Cycling is an individual sport, but run on a team basis. Only one man can win a bike race, but he cannot do it without a team of underlings to back him up.

Isle of Man rider Mark Cavendish. 38

CYCLING // UNSUNG HEROES

On stage seven of the 2011 Tour de France, the British contender Bradley Wiggins had a crash that forced him to pull out of the entire event. Up ahead, his Team Sky team-mate Geraint Thomas heard the news and dropped out of the lead pack to wait for him. Despite sporting the white jersey – a reward for being the best-placed under-25year-old in the race – Thomas didn’t have a moment’s hesitation. “When I heard Brad had crashed, I had to wait. He’s our leader. We all ride for him.” It was just another unsung sacrifice by one of road cycling’s so-called ‘domestiques’, men who spend their careers in the service of other riders. Their name comes from the French word for ‘housemaid’ or ‘servant’. The Italians call them ‘gregari’, the Americans ‘team-riders’, the Flemish ‘knecht’. It’s a concept unique to cycling, based around this essential paradox: cycling is an individual sport, but run on a team basis. Only one man can win a bike race, but he cannot do it without a team of underlings to back him up. The system is inherently unfair. Were soccer similarly structured, strikers would be paid ten or 20 times what goalkeepers or defenders on the same team were paid. One key duty of domestiques is to keep the star riders supplied with bottles of drink. In the past, this entailed stopping at roadside fountains, sometimes streams, or raiding bars along the route of the race.

Nowadays it’s a matter of dropping back down the peloton to a supply car, taking on up to 15 bottles, stuffing them in pockets and down the front of the jersey, before distributing them to team-mates. Other duties include stopping with the race leader if he has a puncture, a crash, or needs to urinate by the roadside, before pacing him back to the main field of riders. If a toilet stop is impossible, the domestique will push the leader along as he urinates on the move. For more complicated bathroom breaks he’s even expected to provide toilet paper or racing hats. If the race is “nervous”, as they say, with riders fighting for position in a close-packed bunch, one burly domestique will keep road space for his leader. One of the world’s most legendary domestiques is British rider Sean Yates, a team worker for the seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. “I knew from the beginning that I wasn’t going to be a big hitter,” he says of his under-appreciated but crucial role. “It’s easier mentally to work for someone else than to have someone work for you, and having to come up with the goods. It’s a bit of a cop-out really but I thought: ‘I’m good at this. I can guarantee an income rather than pretend to be a leader and not have any fun.’” Yates was drawn by the idea of working to the very best of his ability with a clear purpose. He was well aware that although domestiques make up the bulk of the professional cyclists, good ones are rare and

Colour Photos: TDWSport.com

The Tour de France field near Mont-St-Michel.

highly valued. “Most guys don’t do it 100 per cent,” he adds. “It’s like builders. There are so many cowboys out there that, if you do it properly, people think you’re fantastic.” His team leader, the Scot Robert Millar, paid this tribute to him: “He rarely got angry repairing other people’s mistakes and he’d never brag about how much work he’d done. Riding in the wind was job satisfaction.” Most impressive of all the duties expected of domestiques is when they form a chain on the front of the peloton, sharing the pace in order to chase down a threatening breakaway, or – if the leader is a sprinter – to guide their man into the finish like a group of pilot fish. It’s called the ‘train’, with each man allotted a place in the line and a set distance to ride, the fastest (known as the ‘lead-out man’) reserved until the last. To see these tactics at their very best, just watch one of the leading cycling teams, HTC-Highroad, in action in the Tour de France, particularly their sprinter Mark Cavendish. It calls for an awesome devotion to duty: in the 2010 Tour, Cavendish’s lead-out man Mark Renshaw became involved in a head-butting match at 40mph close to the end of one stage when another lead-out man attempted to muscle in on Cavendish’s space. Renshaw was thrown off the race. Cavendish always makes a point of paying tribute to his team-mates after every victory. “It’s the most beautiful sight, sitting there watching eight guys ahead of you working for you,” he says. “It’s based on trust and skill. There’s a passion behind it and it just makes me so proud.” The Isle of Man rider says his team-mates’ hard work increases his own drive to win. He insists he could never live

with himself if, after watching their industry and devotion, he didn’t go on to win the race. Domestiques do sometimes get to win in their own right, and when they do, it’s warmly welcomed by the cycling public who can’t resist seeing the underling reaching top of the tree, even if it’s just for one day. Domestiques themselves often see it differently, however. Back in the 1952 Tour de France, domestique rider Sandrino Carrea got to wear the yellow jersey, having made a lucky escape with the approval of his master, Fausto Coppi. But after the finish, he started weeping, fearful Coppi would see him as a rebel and give him the sack. In the 1974 Tour, Eddy Merckx’s support man Joseph Bruyère won the jersey briefly, and chose to wear a team jersey on top of it to prove he didn’t have ideas above his station.

Rally co-drivers Riding shotgun, they navigate for their drivers, occasionally helping with mechanical problems. Perhaps the best-known co-driver in rally driving is Daniel Elena, wing man for seven-times WRC champion Sebastien Loeb. He says he wouldn’t co-drive for anyone else.

Pacemakers in athletics Typically used during world-record attempts, these runners ensure other competitors maintain a certain speed while racing. Normally they drop out before the finish. In the 1994 Los Angeles Marathon, pacemaker Paul Pilkington (below) was so far ahead that he chose not to drop out and won the race.

Rowing coxes

There to steer the boat, control the stroke rate and motivate the crew, coxes have to be very light since they are passengers. This explains why many top coxes are female. After a regatta win they are often ceremonially thrown into the water.

Fausto Coppi.

GO FURTHER... Check out Tour de France riders discussing the role of the domestique during a race. POPULOUS MAGAZINE //

PopUlous in

history

Where? WIMBLEDON CENTRE COURT, LONDON, UK When? 27th JUNE 2011

Wimbledon has welcomed its fair share of royals over the years. (The future King George VI even competed in the 1926 doubles event.) But none have entered into the spirit of the event quite so much as Wills and Kate did when they cheered on Andy Murray last summer in his fourth round victory over

Frenchman Richard Gasquet on Centre Court. During a later match the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, sat in the Royal Box, even joined in a Mexican wave. Murray, the top-ranked British player, went against modern protocol and chose to bow to the royal highnesses

after the close of his match. “If I’d known they were coming, I would have shaved,” he said afterwards, rubbing the stubble on his face. “I was thinking to myself as I came off I was sweaty and very hairy. I said to them: ‘I’m sorry, I’m a bit sweaty’. But it was very nice to get to meet them.”

POP VIDEO...Watch Andy, Wills and Kate at Wimbledon 2011. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Wimbledon 2011. 40

HISTORY // WILLS & KATE AT WIMBLEDON

FEEL THE BURN

(100m): 5 (weight 94 kg)

(100m): 100m

(100m): 9.58 seconds ******

80 (weight 101 kg)

500 yards *****

90 minutes ****

1008 (weight 64 kg)

10.5km ***

90 minutes

904 (weight 85 kg)

9km **

160 minutes *

Nine seconds for a sprinter, and all day for a cricketer. Different sportsmen spend radically different amounts of time on the field of play.

RAFAEL NADAL

LIONEL MESSI

ANDRE JOHNSON

USAIN BOLT

(World No.2 tennis player)

(Soccer forward for FC Barcelona)

(Wide receiver for NFL’s Houston Texans)

(100m world record holder)

* The average time Nadal spent on each match at Wimbledon 2011.

TIME SPENT COMPETING DISTANCE CALORIES BURNED DURING COMPETITION According to bodybuilding.com

** A tennis coach wore a GPS and calculated that he ran on average 1.6km per set. Nadal, who favours long rallies, would run further. For a five-set match, 9km is a good estimate. *** The journal of sports science and medicine estimates a striker will run this distance on average during a match.

POPULOUS // THE TEAM We are true individuals – innovative, fun and highly creative architects and designers who enjoy working together to give our clients unique design services. Whether it’s bespoke design, sports stadia, entertainment venues or convention centres, we are passionate about everything we do.

**** An estimate of the average time Johnson spends on the field during a typical game. ***** An estimate of the average distance Johnson would cover during pass and running plays in a typical game. ****** Bolt’s world record time.

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