It might look like a giant bar of soap, but Munich's immaculate Allianz Arena is a triumph in design - albeit of Swiss rather than German creation.

A translucent exterior allows technical boffins to illuminate the stadium in whatever colour they see fit, and the World Cup will offer them a welcome chance to operate their plaything. Opened in May 2005, its landlords are Bayern and 1860 Munich who co-funded a construction project estimated to have cost close on £200million.

Located to the north of the city, the arena is a pioneering development, which when lit up for evening matches will certainly offer some of the more striking, colourful images the finals will have to offer. The stadium is designed so the crowd, seated on three tiers, never seem far away from the match action. Significantly, it is already being acclaimed a massive step-up in terms of user-friendliness from the old Olympic stadium, where a running track kept supporters too far away from the touchline for most tastes.