Russia and Qatar win right to host World Cups
Recap:
Russia will host the 2018 World Cup
Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup
England were eliminated in the first round of voting with just two votes
Football Weekly World Cup special
There will be more updates and reaction at guardian.co.uk/football through the evening.
Thanks for reading, commenting, emailing and tweeting on this extraordinary day.
Do blame the messenger?
5.30pm:
BBC's David Bond tweets: Before today's WC vote, Blatter reminded FIFA executive comm members about "certain media" and "recent media coverage."
When in Qatar
5.28pm:
Here is the Foreign Office's guidance for travelling to Qatar.
It is a punishable offence to drink alcohol or be drunk in public. Offenders may incur a prison sentence or deportation. Alcohol is, however, available at licensed hotel restaurants and bars, and expatriates living in Qatar can obtain alcohol on a permit system. You should not carry alcohol with you, including in your car (except to take it on the day of collection from the warehouse to your home).
You should dress modestly when in public, including whilst driving. Women should cover their shoulders and avoid wearing short skirts. You should behave courteously at all times. Any intimacy in public between men and women (including between teenagers) can lead to arrest. Homosexual behaviour is illegal in Qatar.
So, homosexual behaviour, rather than homosexuality per se, is banned. (Thanks to Andrew MacDowall via email)
England's two votes
5.23pm:
Given that England were allowed to vote for themselves in the 2018 vote, the question is being asked: who was the other vote? (Presuming that Geoff Thompson remembered to vote for England).
Reaction to England's humiliating 2018 defeat
5.15pm:
Here's reaction to England's bid defeat, featuring Beckham, Shearer and Boris.
Homosexuality in Qatar
5.10pm:
Tom Gilbert asks via email: "If Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, would a player who has come out and is openly gay - not an impossibility by 2022 - be allowed to play?"
How Qatar won 2022 vote
4.59pm:
Qatar beat USA 14-8 in the fourth round of voting, but almost claimed it in the first round.
First round: Australia 1, Japan 3, USA 3, Korea Republic 4, Qatar 11
Second round: Japan 2, Korea 5, USA 5, Qatar 10 votes
Third round: Korea 5, USA 6, Qatar 11
Fourth round: USA 8, Qatar 14
Qatar win
How the 2018 voting went
4.57pm:
First round: England 2, Holland/Belgium 4, Spain/Portugal 7, Russia 9
Second round: Holland/Belgium 2, Spain/Portugal 7, Russia 13
Russia win
England got just 2 votes
4.55pm:
In the first round of voting, England got 2 votes, Holland/Belgium 4, Spain/Portugal 7 and Russia 9, Fifa have confirmed.
Media influence
4.52pm:
After much discussion about the British media's role hurting the 2018 bid. David Tiltman emails:
Here's a ranking of today's bidding countries according to where they appear on the current Press Freedom Index:
Netherlands (3)/Belgium (14)
Japan (12)
Australia (18)
England (19 as part of UK)
USA (20)
Spain (39)/Portugal (40)
South Korea (42)
Qatar (120)
Russia (140)
Interesting, given Fifa's issues with the press recently
Fancy going to Russia or Qatar?
4.48pm:
Will you be travelling to the 2018 or 2022 World Cup finals? asks our new blog.
The Qatari bid chief executive, Hassan al-Thawadi, insisted. "Heat is not and will not be an issue," although the workers who will build the country's stadiums may beg to differ. The country's size is less of an issue, however – at just 4,416 sq miles, Qatar is around half the size of Wales, with a population of around 1.6m. Long-distance travel won't be a problem, but congestion may be. The foreign office advise that it is a punishable offence to drink alcohol or be drunk in public in the country, while homosexuality is illegal.
How England lost the 2018 World Cup
4.44pm:
Owen Gibson reports on how England were eliminated in the first round of voting despite the £15m campaign.
Fifa's technical report on Qatar
4.37pm:
Fifa's technical report on the Qatari 2022 World Cup bid said that there was a "potential health risk" because of the heat, which reaches up to 106 degrees during the summer. Here's a Sports Illustrated report.
During its presentation, the Qatar bid committee said that they had developed carbon cooling systems to keep down temperatures in stadia.
How heat affects footballers
4.34pm:
@BaselGooner tweets: "Expect plenty of this in Qatar 2022 http://bit.ly/dIoCWk"
Unlikely venues
4.29pm:
Bobby Otter emails: "I say Canada to hold the World Cup in 2026... in January... out doors of course. The cold is not and will not be an issue."
Russia reacts
4.26pm:
Our man in Moscow, Tom Parfitt sends this:
Russia's sports channel, Rossiya 2, is showing the bid's signature clip of a great football field spreading out across the country, zipping past the Winter Palace in St Petersburg and the Christ the Saviour cathedral in Moscow. There are scenes of gambolling children, and ballet dancers doing keepy-uppies. The word "Pobeda!" (Victory!) is written across the bottom of the screen.
Ilya Kazakov, the presenter of Russia's version of Match of the Day, is choking with emotion. "This is a great honour and a huge responsibility," he gulped after Russia was announced the winner.
Andrei Snetkov, 21, a fan of the army club, CSKA, who saw the result announced at home on television, told the Guardian: "For us it's a big step. At last the World Cup will come to our motherland. Let everyone come, we will show them real, distinguished Russian football. We will beat everyone and prove we are a great sporting power! This is something amazing for us: finally our lads, our fans will get see the great stars of football. It's just great."
President Dmitry Medvedev has written on his Twitter account: "Hurrah! Victory! We will host the 2018 World Cup! Now we must get ready. And, of course, play well."
Qatar's legacy
4.19pm:
Footballer-turned-pundit Mark Bright tweets about Qatar's legacy plans: "Qatar will dismantle the stadiums and give them to developing countries post their W/Cup, great idea, only 600k population though!"
How the voting went
4.16pm:
Inside World Football reports that Russia were awarded the 2018 World Cup in the second round of voting "such was Russia's margin of superiority".
Qatar's World Cup record
4.10pm:
Qatar has never qualified for a World Cup finals. Of course, it could qualify in 2014 and 2018, before hosting the event in 2022. (Although someone has briefly edited the national team's Wikipedia page to say "2006 Did Not Qualify; 2010 Did Not Qualify; 2014 Will Not Qualify; 2018 Will Not Qualify; 2022 Qualified)
THE WINNERS
RUSSIA WILL HOST THE 2018 WORLD CUP FINALS
QATAR WILL HOST THE 2022 WORLD CUP FINALS
Support for Qatar
4.03pm:
Adrian Cachinero tweets: "Russia and Qatar are new frontiers of football, it makes perfect sense to everyone except you."
Qatari football
3.57pm:
CoCo Wong emails from Hong Kong: "The results are just...mind blowing. But let's not forget the quality of Qatar's football team."
Politicians step in
3.55pm:
Not wasting a moment for political advantage, Ivan Lewis, Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Sport, is calling for an independent root and branch inquiry following England's failed World Cup bid. "Despite the impressive efforts of Team England, supporters will be bitterly disappointed at England's failure to land the 2018 World Cup. This follows on from the England team's poor performance in South Africa. Serious questions have to be answered as to how we can learn lessons from these significant setbacks to build a better future. The Coalition and the football authorities should now set up an independent root and branch inquiry into all aspects of how our national game is run."
3.52pm:
So, have we all been sucked in by the excitement of the bidding process? Was it not felt that Blatter wanted World Cups in Russia and Qatar all along, for legacy purposes, and for Fifa's financial enrichment?
THE WINNERS
3.50pm:
To recap for those not hitting the "refresh" button every few seconds:
RUSSIA WILL HOST THE 2018 WORLD CUP FINALS
QATAR WILL HOST THE 2022 WORLD CUP FINALS
There will lots more reaction and revelations over the next few hours.
3.49pm:
Now we will find out if Qatar's anti-heat technology will work.
3.45pm:
I have an inbox full of emails reacting to that result.
3.44pm:
Qataris look very happy. Less applause from the rest of the auditorium.
3.43pm:
QATAR WILL HOST THE 2022 WORLD CUP FINALS
3.42pm:
Roman Abramovich looks happy. Eusebio less so.
3.41pm:
Sepp Blatter back on the mic. He asks for applause for the losers: some very glum looking faces around the auditorium.
And now he's moving on to the 2022 decision...
3.38pm:
The Russian delegation go wild. The 2022 decision will follow shortly.
3.37pm:
RUSSIA WILL HOST THE 2018 WORLD CUP FINALS
3.34pm:
Blatter: "In football we learn to win and this is easy, in football we also learn to lose and this is not so easy"
3.32pm:
Blatter: still babbling on, now talking about the happiness to humanity of this vote....
3.31pm:
Sepp Blatter "it is indeed a great day today, here in Zurich, the city of Fifa, the capital of international football, the capital of people gathering together"
my he's dragging this out...
3.31pm:
Sepp Blatter steps up....
3.29pm:
Jermoe Valcke, Fifa general secretary, says that Sepp Blatter will announce the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts shortly
The announcements...
3.28pm:
And they are now live on the Fifa stage
We will get to find out who voted for who, apparently
3.27pm:
Our man in Zurich (well, one of our men), Owen Gibson tweets: "Fifa will publish all results in full. U-turn. Meltdown."
Twitter rumours
3.21pm:
@henrywinter: All the fish are sold....England look to have lost. Unconfirmed
@OliverKayTimes: And the suggestion is that England went out at the first hurdle. Unconfirmed
@alextomo: English look glum
Bad news for England?
3.19pm:
Times's @owenslot tweets: "England went out in 1st round. News from inside"
That would be humiliating.
Auditorium clues
3.15pm:
@pkelso tweets: "#england2018 taking their seats, not a lot of smiles."
@tariqpanja tweets: Clinton and Prince William deep in conversation as they enter hall
Hoping for celebrations
3.13pm:
David Hannah emails: "I am in Hong Kong too waiting for the announcement, can you ask Jonathan Fox which bar he's going to to celebrate if England win?"
Shall we wait a few minutes for the announcement?
Last minute odds...
3.12pm:
Sean Ingle tells me that last minute odds are England 8/11, Russia 13/5, Spainugal 5/1, Belgland 50/1
Waiting, waiting...
3.10pm:
Still no pictures from Fifa.com's live feed.They usually kick in when an announcement/presentation is about to begin
Around the world
3.08pm:
Jonathan Fox emails: "I was just talking to my friend about England's presentation. I said "I can't believe we only brought along two toffs and a right winger." He replied "Calling Beckham a toff is a bit harsh."
Come on England! I'm watching from Hong Kong - its 11pm here. A night on the town beckons if all goes well....
Edward Mason emails: "I'm in China waiting for the announcement - Barney Ronay's tweet says to me "Go to bed.""
Don't go yet Ed....
Nearly there
3.05pm:
BBC's @Pearcesport tweets: "Michel Platini has been spotted in the auditorium, so the voting has finished."
Pointers?
3.03pm:
Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl tweets: "Qatari delegation members getting handshakes & some hugs from FIFA voters. Hmmmmm...."
Hold on, we might be about to get an announcement
2.58pm:
owen_g tweets: "We're being told to file into the auditorium where the decision is to be announced #2018 #2022."
Check out Chuck
2:56pm:
Email from Iain Aikman: "Thought this might fill the time whilst waiting on the result….CONCACAF bigwig Chuck Blazer's very own blog http://chuckblazer.blogspot.com. In amongst snaps of him schmoozing with the likes of Bill Clinton and Vladimir Putin, Chuck also has time to upload a zinger of a pic of him dressed as Obi Wan Kenobi."
Rolling speculation
2.46pm:
ESPN's Bob Ley tweets: "9 nervous soccer nations around the globe. 2018 annmt to be made first, 12 minutes later, the 2022 decision in Zurich. #fb"
Our very own Barney Ronay further tweets: "Fifa official; "It could be five six seven o'clock." She might be lying though."
On the bright side, GMT is an hour earlier than Zurich, so that quote could read 4/5/6 o'clock...
Delays looking likely
2.41pm:
Telegraph's Paul Kelso tweets: "Fifa official saying at least 30 mins til verdict, 2018 vote still ongoing."
Guardian's @barneyronay adds: "We've been told to go away from the doors. "It could be haff an hour an hour!" But is it a fifa smokescreen?"
Well, they would think that wouldn't they
2.39pm:
Matthew Taylor tweets: "So english media think england are doing well, russian media thinks russians have it, spanish media think spainugal win #guesswork."
Will the result come at 3pm?
2.36pm:
I know I've been promising the 2018 and 2022 decisions at 3pm for the last three days, but the BBC's James Pearce tweets: "A source at FIFA has just told me that the voting is still going on. The announcement is likely to be later than scheduled."
England latest
2.34pm:
Owen Gibson tweets: "England bid team file through lobby. Nervous smiles but no real sense of how the voting is going. #2018"
Spainugal v Russia?
2.30pm:
Josh in Valladolid emails: "Spanish 2pm news reports "rumours" about Spainugal and Russia making it through to the final round."
He also emails more details of Angel Maria Villar's words during the Spain/Portugal presentation: "You are all hard working, honest individuals. FIFA is an honest, hard working organisation which cares about football. Anything "anybody else" says or might say about this not being the case is a lie."
Odds for 2022
2.26pm:
Racing editor Tony Paley with some more odds, this time for 2022:
William Hill bet:
4/6 Qatar,
5/2 Australia, America,
33/1 Japan,
40/1 South Korea.
Russian amendment
2.25pm:
Philly Mac in Maryland emails to say: "The Doomsday scenario from the Russian media (see 1:59 p.m.) can't pan out as described. Sepp wouldn't get a vote with three teams left in it - there would be an "intermediate voting round" to determine who gets dumped out. POW! Take that, Moscow!"
He is quite right. The Fifa rules state: "If there is a tie for the lowest number of votes in any round, an intermediate voting round will be conducted to determine which of the tied bidders does not progress."
Tories and football
2.21pm:
After the earlier revelation (12.57pm) that David Cameron doesn't really like football, Benji Inwood (@man_on_football) tweets to remind of this classic moment of another Tory on the England 2018 bid trip to Zurich.
It was England v Germany, after all.
How the voting works
2.17pm:
The result is expected at 3pm. There will be no voting stages revealed before then. After the result has been awarded we may find out how the voting unfolded. As a reminder, here is Fifa's own explanation of the voting:
· The 2018 vote will take place first, then the 2022 one. The vote will be by secret ballot and all eligible members of the FIFA Executive Committee can vote in both ballots
· To win the right to host the competition, a bidder must obtain an absolute majority (50% + 1) of the votes of the FIFA Executive Committee members present
· In the event of a tie when only two bidders remain, the FIFA President will have the casting vote
· For any voting round in which an absolute majority is not achieved, the bidder with the lowest number of votes will not progress to the next voting round
· If there is a tie for the lowest number of votes in any round, an intermediate voting round will be conducted to determine which of the tied bidders does not progress
· When the final decision on the host has been taken, the results – without prior communication of the results – will be immediately sealed by the KPMG observer and the notary, who will bring it to the "Messezentrum Zurich". The notary will then hand over the envelopes to the FIFA President for the announcements.
Another email from Zurich
2.11pm:
From Stuart Howes: "I also live in Zürich, and was wondering if you could pass on the message to George Humphreys (1.47pm) to ask Dave Cameron to get me one in too whilst it's his round? I'll be along presently. Oh – and "Langstrasse", which the Swiss consider the seediest part of Zürich, isn't even a patch on Newcastle's big market, although there is a Hooters just round the corner from Forum – wonder if that's where they're heading next?
The view from Izvestia
1.59pm:
Paul Doyle has been scouring the best of the international press for pointers:
Bad tidings for England from Russian newspaper Izvestia. They reckon they know how the voting will pan out. The Low Countries will be dumped out in the first round, then in the next the Iberian bid will get eight votes while England and Russia will get seven each. Sepp Blatter will then have the casting vote and he'll give it to Russia, who will then beat Iberia in a run-off, apparently.
Some emails
1.47pm:
Ryan Goss asks: "All other things being equal, would FIFA be reluctant to award two consecutive cups to English-speaking nations? That is to say, could delegates be reluctant to vote for both England and the USA (or for both England and Australia)? And if they would be, does that mean the USA and Aussies are competing with each other as well as with England?"
Abdel Rahman Azzam quotes the England presentation and adds his own footnote: ""Football hosts Football", whereby each participating finalists will be looked after by one of England's professional teams, invited to use their facilities and possibly even coaching tips Great! Cant wait to see Stoke City offering coaching tips to Brazil…"
David Cullen explains a moment during the Spanish presentation: "The ripple of applause during Villar's presentation was for describing the committee members as people "working honestly for this great game" ('honestos trabajadores'). He repeated it three times I think. It seems plain what he was trying to say... It felt like he felt he had them in his pocket already."
George Humphreys in Zurich says: "I live 5 mins walk away from the Forum bar (on the "notorious Langstrasse", about as scary as High St Kensington on a sunday morning). Going to pop down and see if Cameron will stand me a pint."
The day in pictures
1.32pm:
The best images from Zurich today.
Passing the time
1.24pm:
Jean-Claude Gerber of 20 Minuten Online in Zurich emails to say that "the future King and the Bidding Team have now relocated to the Forum Bar to pass the time. The bar, although thorougly respectable, is located at Zurich's infamous Langstrasse."
Who will win 2022?
1.21pm:
Owen Gibson says that Qatar impressed but the USA are favourites.
How did England do? Hayward's verdict
1.20pm:
Paul Hayward argues: "England prove the 2018 dreamers amid the Machiavellian World Cup games: While England and the Low Countries provided a vision, Russia and Spain-Portugal presented only politics."
The vote explained
1.17pm:
For those of you trying to work out what is going on behind closed doors, Owen Gibson explains how it all works.
There is also an interactive of How the 2018 vote may go.
The mood in the Spanish camps
1.12pm:
The Guardian's Spanish football expert @sidlowe tweets: "Spain thinking 9 votes tied up now. But are they? And can they add the other 3?"
and again: "Imagine most in England would not have fully realised the surrealness of Villar's speech. Yet it drew applause. 22 voters not normal people."
Dave and football: a message from the past
12.57pm:
Back in 2001, David Cameron, who could then only dream of one day being Prime Minister and leading a World Cup bidding presentation, spoke on the Football (Disorder) (Amendment) Bill:
It is a pleasure to follow Andy Burnham, who knows a lot about his subject. Not only is he a football fan, he is quite an accomplished cricket player, as I discovered during a game this summer. Many of those who have spoken in the debate or have written about the subject are either lawyers or football fans, but I have to confess that I am neither: I am just a novice parliamentarian who is trying to work out whether the draconian powers in the Bill are really necessary.
(Hat-tip David Mills and TheyWorkForYou)
Latest betting
12.49pm:
Racing editor Tony Paley says:
Russia have been odds-on favourites for months but England became favourites to win the 2018 World Cup bid yesterday afternoon with the bookmakers and that has been reflected on the betting exchange Betfair with more money coming for them throughout last night and today during the presentations. Currently England are even money on Betfair, with Russia at 2.1-1 and Spain/Portugal 5.9-1.
Video: The presentations
12.29pm:
You can also watch the Spain/Portugal presentation here and the Belgium/Netherlands show here.
A selection of tweets
On the Fifa committee:
@tariqpanja: "To be a fly on the wall during FIFA exco lunch before last vote. Who'll be the most convincing ...Geoff?"
@pkelso: "#2018 Screens blank and no information as to where or when exactly vote will happen. Transparency has run its course. Result 3ish UK"
On the English presentation:
@stuart_d tweets: just like to say I'm currently enjoying the "great transport links between our cities". Now 1hour into my 30 min journey to work
@owen_g: "Blatter calls it an "excellent and remarkable" presentation. was indeed v good - pretty slick. shame it won't be won on presentations."
On the Russian presentation:
@robmeiklejohn tweets: "Let me get this right: Russian's main musical chorus was 'Russia Never Sleeps' but the video was all about a boy sleeping?"
@owen_g: "Praising South Africa World Cup - full on legacy pitch, pandering to Blatter's ego and natural inclination of many on the ex-co."
On 2022:
@GrantWahl: "World Cup Decision Day in Zurich. Sun rising in America right now. The same for USA's WC22 bid? Answers at 10 am ET."
The committee considers
12.15pm:
So, the Fifa executive committee are now locked away making their decision, which we can expect at 3pm. There will be no details of how the voting went and at which stages bids were eliminated until AFTER the decision is announced.
11.58am: Differing opinions on Russia's bid below the line. Ponsman writes:
Our presentation was easily the best one - the Russian bid had no angle apart from, "We are a big country," "We've suffered lots of disasters," "Lets make history," blah blah blah.
It would be a disgrace if we are not chosen - FIFA purport football to be a global game - our country is the best example there is of a tolerant, multi-ethnic nation in which people live together in relative harmony.
Yazoo reckons Russia's case is a strong one though:
I think Russia will get it, due to it having such a massive potential market for football and being an emerging football nation... Which after South Africa, is not such a bad thing. I also think that it certainly has the financial backing to have the stadia in place without massive debt (unlike Spain and Portugal).
11.56am: Just in case you've forgotten, here are England's proposed host cities along with their pros and cons.
11.54am: Owen Gibson is in Zurich and has written on his impressions the England bid presentation. He reckons it was a strong showing from Beckham, Windsor et al.
11.47am: A few videos for you. First of all highlights of Holland/Belgium's bid. Then highlights of England's bid, starring Prince William and David Beckham.
11.41am: A break from the bidding and we get highlights of Russia's presentation. It's Europop time! Get down! BOO-BEEE-BOO-BEEE-BOOOP!
11.39am: The Russian presentation ends with the chairman saying "Welcome to Russia." Thanks! Sepp Blatter says it was "interesting" and showed the "different facets of Russia".
11.37am: Russia's bid ends with a video of football being played round the world to One Day Like This by Elb... football being played round Russia. Judging by the video 97% of Russia's population is young women in low-cut tops.
11.35am: Russia's last speaker points out that some people say Russia's infrastructure is poor but this would be disproven if they win the bid. A World Cup would help put Russia's tragic history in the 20th Century to rest and move the country towards a new future. He makes a comparison to how the 2010 World Cup helped South Africa remould its image with the world. He says Russia's wealth isn't oil and gas but its people. Yep, that and the oil and gas.
11.26am:
Arsenal's Andrey Arshavin is up now talking about his youth. "My coach believed in me when no-one else did. Now we ask you to believe in us."
"I am just simple football player. My life is on the pitch. You are leaders. I ask to make decision for future generations."
Another large round of applause.
11.23am:
Russia makes a break with other bidders by having a woman come on stage, an Olympic champion no less - Yelena Isinbaeva
"My message to you Dear Gentlemens, half the world are women, I love football."
11.23am:
But the video gets a big round of applause.
11.21am:
The map of Russia seems to indicate that Siberia will miss out on the World Cup bonanza. This video really is only worthy of an in-flight airline commercial.
"Of course the real jewels of Russia are her children," the lady-in-white hosting this video adds as an afterthought.
11.18am:
Alexey Sorokin "our transport system is fast, reliable and to a large extent free". Promising free transport for ticket holders, and no-Visa requirements.
Now there's a "technical video". Promising 3,500 VIP Seats at the stadium for the final (doesn't say whether these are those big padded ones). Sochi stadium already being rebuilt for the Winter Olympics.
11.16am:
Alexey Sorokin (CEO Russia 2018 Bid Committee) back up: Russia will have 13 host cities ("The jewels of Russia"). Although Russia is vast, most cities are just one hour from Moscow.
16 stadia, with some rebuilding of older ones.
Red Square will become a FanFest site.
11.13am:
Btw, for those of you worrying about our translation skills, the Russians are helpfully speaking in English.
Now they are talking about the huge sponsorship for the coming Winter Olympics.
11.12am:
Video still on. Brief change of pace to some classical ballet, and then back to the hi-energy. Apparently, Russia and Italy are playing in the final. Small boy comes on to take last minute free kick. Arshavin steps aside to let him do it. And he...
...wakes up
11.10am:
Alexey Sorokin still: This could be a "game changer." And now onto the first Russian video, featuring, you guessed it, a little boy playing football. Backed with some distinctly hi-energy Russian Eurovision style music.
11.08am:
Alexey Sorokin: "History and the making of it is a powerful theme in our bid. Our bid and it's vision is not simply based on the fact that Russia has not hosted the World Cup. There are benefits for Russia and for Fifa."
Churchill said Russia is an enigma wrapped inside a riddle etc etc (which way round is that meant to be?)
11.07am:
Alexey Sorokin (CEO Russia 2018 Bid Committee) up first: "We have two options, we could bore you to sleep with what is in our bid book, or we could show you what is in our hearts."
11.06am:
Sepp Blatter has been introducing the Russian presentation team for several minutes...
Russia presentation
11.03am:
Barney Ronay tweets: "Russia presentation intriguing. Expect lots of hopping mad uk media bashing.Maybe putin to ride in on a horse barechested swinging a mace."
Or not. Here we go....
11.00am:
Things seem to be running slightly late. Paul D says that was due to the extreme length of the Spaigal presentation: "It was so boring that everyone needed time to recover."
10.51am:
The Russian presentation will be up shortly.
I will try and get through some of your emails and tweets when we have the long wait between the end of the presentations and the result announcement (expected at 3pm GMT). During that time the Fifa executive committee will be locked away in a room voting.
The Guardian's Matt "Digger" Scott says:
Highly connected, long-time Fifa lobbyist says of E2018 presentation: "The best presentation so far. I think it may sway a couple of crucial votes in England's favour."
10.50am:
Can't believe that Paul didn't mention Prince William's Royal Wedding joke (although, for the life of me I can't remember what it was now).
10.47am:
Good morning, Steve Busfield here. I've been blogging the Ashes while Paul has been here. Now he's off to record half of the Football Weekly podcast (the second half will be recorded post the 3pm decision).
10:43am: Barney Ronay in Zurich says there is a palpable sense that recent claims by the pesky English media have hamstrung the bid. The presentation today sort of tried to turn that on its head, implicitly stressing to Fifa that giving the tournameant to England would be a great way to demonstrate what a fine, benign, in-absolutely-no-way corrupt organisation it really is.
10:41am: Here's Boris Johnson on why England should host the World Cup.
10:36am: "I really don't think our bid should be highlighting social problems in England such as alcohol and knife crime," groans HK1234 down below. I thought that was a bold approach, and also, bearing in mind how often the English are perceived as arrogant, showed a degree of humility and integrity. And, of course, it all conveyed the message that if England can use its football wealth to tackle social problems at home, then it can do so in your country too, Mr Fifa executive committee member. I guess that was the idea.
10:31am: There ends the England presentation. It was a good one, I thought. The message was clear: we're football's kingpins but we want to redistribute our football wealth to everyone (and, by implication, that should be what you want too, Fifa).
10:26am: Here's Beckham. His initial angle seems to be ... that Bobby Charlton is great. He's also speaking a lot about his grandad, a massive Tottenham fan who took him to his first game. Then he moves on to the Football United theme, whereby England will help use football as a social development tool around the world: "Each of you has the chance to create opportunities for young people in your country," says Becks. "Just imagine what we can achieve together."
10:25am: Eddie Akefafe is back. Again he speaks asbout how football can change lives. "Choose England today and England will deliver many more stories like mine. Football United - it's a new idea, a big idea, but one that everyone supports."
10:22am: Anson has introducecd one of England's key concepts, called "Football hosts Football", whereby each participating finalists will be looked after by one of England's professional teams, invited to use their facilities and possibly even coaching tips.
10:20am: Another video: assorted Premier League managers - Wenger, Ferguson, Mancini, Redknapp - hailing the training facilities in England.
10:16am: Eddie Afekafe is back, talking about how nice it is to watch football in England. Then he introduces Andy Anson, chief executive of the bid. After the obligatory platitudes, he moves on to eulogising England's technical merits - the stadiums and so on - and describes England as the "world's biggest football market." He says 28 millions fans will visit England, watching in stadiums and fan fests and staying in five-star hotels or student dorms. He then vaunts England's theatre, comedy clubs and pubs because "it's also about what to do when the football is not on".
10:14am: Now there's a video of lots of different people playing football in all sorts of environments all over the world, and almost all in the jerseys of English clubs. The soundtrack, I'm told, is One Day Like This by Elbow.
10:10am: Cameron says that if England win the bid they will set upa Football Development Fund that "will spend as much money as Fifa does" on football development around the world.
10:09am: For players, the big appeal is the top-notch facilities. For fans, there's safety because "we've got some of the fionest police in the world" and the "great transport links between our cities" and also, because of the diverse population, "we can provide a home crowd for every team." Thirdly, for Fifa, "we will guarantee you a commercial success ... and a great global event for football ... you want to demonstrate the change that football can bring to people's lives."
10:08am: Now it's David Cameron turn. "We have the passion and the expertise to put on what we believe will be the most spectacular World Cup in history." He goes on to say: "There are three groups of people that we can really deliver for: players, fans and Fifa."
10:06am: Prince William is at the lectern and he begins be claiming that Afekafe's success is all thanks to Fifa. The remedial, unifying power of football is something England will harness, apparently. And the next point is that "I love football, we love football, England loves football."
10:05am: First up is Eddie Afekafe from Manchester. He explains his humble origins and how football gave him an opportunity to escape a life of poverty and crime that enveloped so many of his peers.
10:03am: Aha, Blatter is on the stage, making the usual introductions, paying particular tribute to Prince William, whom he invites the audience to applaud. They oblige in perfunctory fashion. Bobby Charlton gets a more enthusiastic greeting. Proper order.
10am: No sign of the England presenters. Are they deliberately running late in solidarity with the snow-bound folks back home or have Fifa' bods just asked for extra time to receover from the Iberian presentation?
The England presentation
9:54am: Six minutes to go. The England presenters are presumably running through their final warm-up routines, David Beckham grooming himself maniacally and David Cameron squat-thrusting a-gogo. "I expect a very slick ... very moving presentation," says former FA communications director David Davies on BBC. "I'm told it will be outstanding!" says a man on Sky, whose sources are no doubt 100% objective.
9:42am: The Iberian bid is over and they better hope that the voters had alreedy made up their minds because it's hard to imagine any of them suddenly deciding to back Iberia on the basis of that. Next up is England, in 18 minutes ...
9:40am: Here comes another video. It looks like a coffee ad ... no, hold on, it's ... it's .... about two boys dreaming of watching football.
9:38am: Blimey, the speaker, Senor Villa Llona, has just got a ripple of applause from the audience - presumably he's announced that he's finishing up.
9:33am: By my calculation this has been the longest presentation of any so far, including the five yesterday. It certainly seems the most boring. Stop talking, and bring on some dancers would be my advice at this point.
9:27am My colleague Owen Gibson, who's currently in Zurich, tweets that: Lots of people who were there drawing comparisons with Paris in 2005 - boring men in suits. Unlikely to matter as much here though.
9:26am: Can any hispanophones or lusophones watching this presentation tell me whether, when you actually understand what they're saying, these speakers are as dull as they seem to me? Going solely on body language, intonation and hunches, they seem a relentlessly boring lot. The Dutch (and Jean-Marie Pfaff) were equally softly spoken but they had style and charisma.
9:20am: Now there's a video homage to Iberia's superb amenities, including tip-top transportation facilities, peerless security standards, excellent telecommunications stuff, swish hotels, roomy offices, pristine toilets and world class bins.
8:47am: According to Fifa, the Iberian presentation team will consist of Jose Socrates, prime minister of Portugal, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spanish government president, Gilberto Madail (deputy president of the bid), Miguel Angel Lopez (managing director of the bid) and Pedro Mourinho (master of ceremonies). Not much star dust there - couldn't they have wheeled out Penelope Cruz or Jose Mourinho? This is all about glitz, after all, since everyone has already made up their mind, or so we're told.
9:15am: "90,000 signed rooms by LOC" reads one of the captions on a big photo, rather emphasising elscollonsdelgos's suggestion below that the presenters may not have used the most savvy translators.
9:12am: Now they're talking up their football tradition, referring to "cities and stadium that live football". Oi, that's England's thunder you're stealing!
9:10am: Our man Pedro Mourinho is back, prattling in English. He assures us that both governments are "highlighting the role of football as a driving force of development and integration."
9:08am: And now a video, featuring lots of nice scenery and words such as IDEAL, GOURMET, DYNAMIC and FANTASTIC periodically emblazoned across the screen.
9:05am: "The No1 tourist destination in the world," is what the current speaker seems to be emphasising, and the caption on the photo behind him carries a claim that Iberia has more hotel rooms than anywhere else in the world.
9:04am: Another picture - this time of a sprinter at the starting blocks - and the caption reads: "We are ready". Oh, and here's another one: "Top-class infrastructure". As for what the speakers are saying, alas, I still can't enlighten you on that front, having learned neither Portuguese nor Spanish within the last four minutes.
9:02am: At least the captions being projected on the large screen behind the speaker are in English. The first picture is of Iberia and the captions reads "a borderless geographical reality."
The Iberian bid
9am: MC Pedro Mourinho begins, and in English too, which is nice of him. After a preliminary spiel, he vacates the floor so that Jose Socrates may speak. He begins in Portuguese. Ah.
8:56am: Blatter is back and he's blathering in Spanish. We may assume that he's introducing the next presentation. As for the Dutch one, which Aarong1989 describes below as "awful", I thought it was simple and gentle - almost admirable in its refusal to make a giddy song and dance about what is an essentially meaningless routine.
8:47am: According to Fifa, the Iberian presentation team will consist of Jose Socrates, prime minister of Portugal, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spanish government president, Gilberto Madail (deputy president of the bid), Miguel Angel Lopez (managing director of the bid) and Pedro Mourinho (master of ceremonies). Not much star dust there - couldn't they have wheeled out Penelope Cruz or Jose Mourinho? This is all about glitz, after all, since everyone has already made up their mind, or so we're told.
8:43am: "I just hope that whichever country wins it decides about a week before the tournament starts that Fifa will pay full tax on the World Cup," trumpets Zakelius down below. "That would be sweet." And who can dispute that?
Order of play
8:32am: Next up, at 9am, will be the Spain/Portugal bid. In the meantime, why not consider what David Conn reckons England need to do if they win, and if they lose.
8:29am: So ends the Hollgian bid and up steps Blatter to award the speakers with a "certificate of participation", which they can bring home to show their parents.
8:27am: Gullit is also emphasising that the Dutch are the only regular member of Fifa's Top 10 countries never to have hosted the World Cup.
8:25am: Ruud Gullit is now highlighting one of the main themes of this bid: greenness. "Bikes are not a gimmick, they are a very important means of transportation," he declares.
8:20am: Keeping up the relaxed and informal vibe that the Hollgians have been trying to spread, Guus Hiddink saunters on to stage and begins addressing the assemblage in much the same way as you imagine he might chat to his players around a card table. I haven't quite grasped what it is he's saying yet - he basically seems to be insisting, as the previous speakers have, that he knows how popular football is around the world and that you can count on the Hollgians to put on a good bash.
8:16am: Gullitt's back, to introduce the prime ministers of both Holland and Belgium. Gullit is now interviewing them: "The Low Countries are in the heart of Europe = how important is that?" he asks the Belgian PM, who assures him that it's very important indeed. Then Gullit asks the Dutch PM whether he's supporting the bid. It transpires that he is, thus an embarrassing situation is narrowly averted for Gullit. That support, as Panorama expained the other night, doesn't extend to handing control of the country over to Fifa for the duration of the tournament, which is why this bid is considered favourite to be eliminated in the first round.
8:10am: Next up is Jean-Marie Pfaff, who is speaking in Dutch/Flemish. I've no idea what he's saying but he seems to really mean it. And then we cut to a video, set to Jacques Brel's Le Plat Pays and showing lots of famous Belgians - yes, really! - including Hercule Poirot, no less.
8:06am: Now Cruyff is on stage. He's talking about the need to liberate ther world's children from obeisty and exclusion. "We are here to create a world for the children," he says solemenly, then departs. He doesn't explain why Holland and Belgium are better equipped than anyone else to help children.
8:03am: Ruud Gullit steps up to give a handy quickfire guide to the perceived merits of this bid: "It is a safe choice in every aspect," he says. "No1, we are a compact bit - our limited size is our real stregnth. No2, compact makes us green. No3, the economic power of our country is high. No4, we are in the heart of Europe. No5, our bid is a showcase for joint candidates. And No6, we want to leave a true legacy."
Holland and Belgium presentation
8am: The first speaker is Belgium's inside man, Michel D'Hooge, who is also one of the members of Fifa's executive committee. "Holland, Fifa and Belgium: together for great goals", he blathers.
7:56am: Here's Sepp (to be said, if you so wish, a la Jack Nicholson in The Shining). He's running through some uninteresting points of order and then notes that it's Johan Cruyff's birthday. "Hayy birthday, Johan!" he gushes to tremendous appaluse. Easily pleased, this audience.
7:50am: Oliver Kay from The Times has tweeted that "England bid team less than happy to hear about trouble at St Andrew's last night but don't see it making an impact on today's vote."
7:47am: The presenters of what for the sake of convenience I will call the Hollgium bid will, apparently, include Ruud Gullit, Johan Cryuff, Guus Hiddink, Paul van Himst and Jean-Marie Pfaff, the former Belgium goalkeeper who's come along way since his being banned during his playing days for frightening his national team manager by pretending to be dead in a swimming pool.
7:44am: Barney Ronay is in Zurich taking the pulse of this bidding beast, and his findings so far are well worth a read. Of the whole presentation palaver, he notes: "It is a business of show, a grand renaissance mystery ball in honour of Fifa, for the betterment of Fifa and for the greater reflected pizzazz of Fifa. The most interesting obiter dictum to emerge from the Panorama furore this week was the reassurance from within Fifa's inner circle that the revelations in the documentary would have little effect because those involved had already decided who they were going to vote for. So what exactly were we doing here?" What he said.
7:40am: Good morning. Twenty minutes untill the presentation of the Dutch-Belgian bid. Hold on to your hats (especially if their white lace ones that look a lot like a child's origami project). The presenters, presumably, will be working the flip side of the coin worked by the Korean bidders yesterday, when they invited Fifa to believe that by 2022 North and South Korea will be one big happy country again and staging the World Cup yonder would be a spiffing way to celebrate the reunion. Conversely, today's first bidder will presumably be trying to convince Fifacrats that by 2018 Belgium will still exist.
How the action will unfold today
Presentations for 2018 bidders
8am GMT Belgium/Netherlands
9am Spain/Portugal
10am England
11am Russia
1pm Fifa executive committee voting process* behind closed doors
3pm 2018 and 2022 World Cup Host Nations Announcement
* This is Fifa's "Voting procedure at a glance":
· The 2018 vote will take place first, then the 2022 one. The vote will be by secret ballot and all eligible members of the FIFA Executive Committee can vote in both ballots
· To win the right to host the competition, a bidder must obtain an absolute majority (50% + 1) of the votes of the FIFA Executive Committee members present
· In the event of a tie when only two bidders remain, the FIFA President will have the casting vote
· For any voting round in which an absolute majority is not achieved, the bidder with the lowest number of votes will not progress to the next voting round
· If there is a tie for the lowest number of votes in any round, an intermediate voting round will be conducted to determine which of the tied bidders does not progress
· When the final decision on the host has been taken, the results – without prior communication of the results – will be immediately sealed by the KPMG observer and the notary, who will bring it to the "Messezentrum Zurich". The notary will then hand over the envelopes to the FIFA President for the announcements.
Updates
Through the day we will follow events in Switzerland.
Please share your thoughts below or email steve.busfield@guardian.co.uk or paul.doyle@guardian.co.uk or on Twitter.
How the action will unfold today
Presentations for 2018 bidders
8am GMT Belgium/Netherlands
9am Spain/Portugal
10am England
11am Russia
1pm Fifa executive committee voting process* behind closed doors
3pm 2018 and 2022 World Cup Host Nations Announcement
* This is Fifa's "Voting procedure at a glance":
· The 2018 vote will take place first, then the 2022 one. The vote will be by secret ballot and all eligible members of the FIFA Executive Committee can vote in both ballots
· To win the right to host the competition, a bidder must obtain an absolute majority (50% + 1) of the votes of the FIFA Executive Committee members present
· In the event of a tie when only two bidders remain, the FIFA President will have the casting vote
· For any voting round in which an absolute majority is not achieved, the bidder with the lowest number of votes will not progress to the next voting round
· If there is a tie for the lowest number of votes in any round, an intermediate voting round will be conducted to determine which of the tied bidders does not progress
· When the final decision on the host has been taken, the results – without prior communication of the results – will be immediately sealed by the KPMG observer and the notary, who will bring it to the "Messezentrum Zurich". The notary will then hand over the envelopes to the FIFA President for the announcements.
Updates
Through the day we will follow events in Switzerland.
Please share your thoughts below or email steve.busfield@guardian.co.uk or paul.doyle@guardian.co.uk or on Twitter.
How the action will unfold today
Presentations for 2018 bidders
8am GMT Belgium/Netherlands
9am Spain/Portugal
10am England
11am Russia
1pm Fifa executive committee voting process* behind closed doors
3pm 2018 and 2022 World Cup Host Nations Announcement
* This is Fifa's "Voting procedure at a glance":
· The 2018 vote will take place first, then the 2022 one. The vote will be by secret ballot and all eligible members of the FIFA Executive Committee can vote in both ballots
· To win the right to host the competition, a bidder must obtain an absolute majority (50% + 1) of the votes of the FIFA Executive Committee members present
· In the event of a tie when only two bidders remain, the FIFA President will have the casting vote
· For any voting round in which an absolute majority is not achieved, the bidder with the lowest number of votes will not progress to the next voting round
· If there is a tie for the lowest number of votes in any round, an intermediate voting round will be conducted to determine which of the tied bidders does not progress
· When the final decision on the host has been taken, the results – without prior communication of the results – will be immediately sealed by the KPMG observer and the notary, who will bring it to the "Messezentrum Zurich". The notary will then hand over the envelopes to the FIFA President for the announcements.
Updates
Through the day we will follow events in Switzerland.
Please share your thoughts below or email steve.busfield@guardian.co.uk or paul.doyle@guardian.co.uk or on Twitter.
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