The company has signed agreements to develop wave-power stations off the coasts of France, Spain and the US.* SolarWorld: Germany's SolarWorld is Europe's best-known solar-power company. The German government offers subsidies to companies that produce solar energy.. At the Moonlight Inn, the setting for the Duke's local, The Boar's Nest, we pull up at what would have been Boss Hog's parking spot Inside, Bunny the barmaid gives us the Dukes tour "There's not much of the props left," she says. Hull-based Football Encounters, for example, will find you and your partner a three-star hotel in Valencia, and provide two lowest-category tickets for their home match against Real Betis on 28 August, for £352 all in (0870 760 5566; ).Matchdays (0870 050 2480), based in Warwickshire, specialises in La Liga and Serie A games, and is currently advertising packages to AC Milan games starting from £105 per head.*The best in the world?For more than half a century, the colossal Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro has been the principal shrine of planet football, hosting the biggest crowds and a series of wonderful Brazilian sides which have carried off the World Cup a record four times. The stadium was built for the 1950 tournament, when most spectators were expected to stand, and the official capacity was nearly 200,000, although it's widely believed that nearly a quarter of a million squeezed in for the final match between Brazil and Uruguay, which the home side surprisingly lost after taking the lead.
Another unforgettable moment was Pele's 1,000th goal in 1969, scored from the penalty spot.These days, the Maracana is a bit tatty, with crumbling concrete and broken seats; the capacity has fallen to 122,000, and there's a growing body of opinion that, like Wembley, it should be dismantled and rebuilt. Official tours of the stadium take place between 9am-5pm every day except match days (8am-11am). Admission is R$3 (70p), which also gains entry to the Garrincha Sports Museum, named after the flawed footballing genius who died of alcoholic poisoning, and pays tribute to Brazilian football and the great players who have raised the simple game to an exalted level.Looking ahead, Germany is callingThe 2006 World Cup finals are less than 10 months away, and you won't be surprised to learn that Germany's preparations are comfortably ahead of schedule. An international tournament in June was used as a kind of dress rehearsal and went without a hitch.Next summer, 12 cities will be hosting games, with the opening ceremony and match in Munich on 9 June, and the final in Berlin on 9 July. For the first time, all spectators will be seated and under cover.
The way the qualifying groups are going, England are almost certain to be the only British representatives this time. Germany, as hosts, qualify automatically; Brazil, the holders, do not.I'd like to catch a game or two live. What should i do?Tickets for next year's World Cup are being released in phases, and early indications are that most of the 64 games will be sell-outs, although there are always a few "dead" matches towards the end of the first round, or games between poorly supported sides, where they virtually have to give tickets away. If you're determined to see at least one World Cup football match before you die, then were, say, Iran to be drawn against Paraguay at Gelsenkirchen you could almost guarantee to buy a ticket on the day. You never know, it could be a seven-goal thriller.Obtaining a ticket to an England game, on the other hand, will be more of a challenge.
