A Major World Record Was Set at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and It’s Not What You Would Think

With any piece of public art, much of its popularity comes from its ability to seize a bustling crowd’s attention. And there are few artists right now who are better equipped with this talent than Lorenzo Quinn. The 56-year-old Italian-born artist burst onto the scene, and public consciousness, with his evocative sculpture of massive hands rising from the water during the 2017 Venice Biennale. Yet the sheer number of people who visited the cultural exhibitions in 2017 (around 600,000) pales in comparison to those projected to be in Doha (an estimated 1.5 million) this month for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This is the most recent venue where Quinn was tapped to create a massive, record-setting recycled steel sculpture dubbed The Greatest Goal.

The 60- by 25-foot sculpture has officially set the Guinness World Record for the largest sculpture made of recycled steel. To be sure, this is a double entendre, for though the piece of art has all of the physical properties of a soccer goal (three posts followed by a net), it has a far greater meaning in its goal for humanity. “Let’s be clear, it’s the passion for soccer and pride for their home country that has pulled everyone to Doha,” the affable Quinn says. “But the whole idea with this sculpture is to unite us all for a greener future. Because it must become fact that the greatest goal of our generation and the next is a sustainable future.”  

To that end, Quinn ensured the work of art was as eye-catching as it was sustainably sourced. All the stainless steel that was used in the sculpture was recycled. “To create something on a large scale, it would’ve been easier to use some plastic,” Quinn explains. “But that would’ve totally defeated the purpose.”