Emirates scores with first airport pitch

10th June 2010: From Brisbane to Baghdad to Beijing, billions of football fans across the globe will be glued to the pitch at Soccer City in South Africa as the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off on Friday. While each of the 22 players will be battling it out to be the star of the show on opening night, there was no doubt about the leading light on the pitch laid specially for the Berlin Air Show. All eyes were on one of Emirates 10 A380s, which at 73 metres long and with a wingspan of 79m took centre stage on the pitch which is believed to be the first to be laid at an airport that meets official international specifications. Italy’s Franco Baresi a legend of the game, having played in two FIFA World Cups, amassing 82 international caps during a glittering career - scored the first goal on the surface which took a 20-strong team 48 hours to create The former star of AC Milan, the Italian club which Emirates will be the shirt sponsor of next season, was joined on the pitch by two football freestylers who showcased their tricks to hundreds of visitors, including German model Eva Padberg. Despite the celebrities in attendance, the pitch - which measured 90m x 40m - was the unmistakable star attraction of the show, with almost 5000 square metres of artificial turf transforming a runway at Berlin-Schönefeld Airport. However, it was dwarfed by the giant aircraft, which was toured by more than 4000 industry professionals over two days. The eco-efficient A380 is so large in fact that it would not even fit on the much larger Soccer City pitch, which measures 105m x 68m. Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior Vice President Corporate Communications, said: “As an Official Partner of the 2010 FIFA World Cup the pitch at Berlin was the perfect platform to announce our latest A380 order. “Seeing the aircraft on a football pitch is a tremendous way to put its size into perspective. Seating more than 500 passengers, it truly is a giant of the skies and - as we take delivery at a rate of almost one a month - it is exciting that more and more of our passengers will soon be able to enjoy the A380 experience. “Emirates is looking forward to playing a major role in what will be an unforgettable festival of football. We serve South Africa with five daily, non-stop flights from Dubai into the three gateways of Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town and will be connecting thousands of fans from across our network of 102 destinations. During the Berlin Air Show, the Dubai-based airline placed a $US 11.5 billion (AED 42.2billion) order for 32 more super-jumbos. The order was in addition to the 58 A380s listed at $48 million that the carrier is already taking delivery of at a pace which will soon make it the largest airline in the world.