Nelson Mandela Bay Multipurpose Stadium (Port Elizabeth, South Africa) completed

The stadium, built by a consortium of BAM International and Grinaker-LTA, was the first of the five new 2010 Soccer World Cup stadiums to be opened by FIFA. The stadium was completed with an excellent track record of zero serious injuries or fatalities. Last week an inaugural match was played between the British and Irish Lions and the Southern Kings.

The 48,600 seater stadium will host several matches during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, including a third and fourth place play off and a quarter final. Pièce de résistance is the grandstand roof, made of 36 curved truss beams covered with aluminium panels and with membrane fabric between the beams. The 3D beams were produced in Kuwait and were assembled on site. Weighing nearly sixty tonnes, the beams are 55 metres long, 25 metres high and range in width from one to twenty metres.