La’ebb, the mascot of the Qatar 2022 World Cup that flew over the Al Bayt stadium at the opening ceremony, was born, or at least manufactured, in the Alicante town of San Vicente del Raspeig, by the company, Carros de Foc.
It represents the typical male headdress worn by Saudi men, also known as ‘ghoutra’ or ‘kefia’. According to FIFA itself, “La’eeb comes from the pet metaverse, a parallel universe that cannot be described in words and that everyone can imagine however they want.
The elaboration of the mascot of the World Cup has been carried out by Carros de Foc. According to its own website, it is a company completely dedicated to creating giant sculptures and puppets, and accompanying them around the world to tell stories. Qatar’s is their first participation in a World Cup but this company has created the illusions of many international events.
La’ebb encourages everyone to believe in themselves, a playful and fun character, essential in helping us appeal to fans of all ages.” It has been designed by Hosein Oyaqui, but the structure that we all saw at the inauguration has a Spanish stamp. It has been manufactured in Alicante, specifically in the town of San Vicente del Raspeig.
The figures and creations of Carros de Foc have paraded in the organisation of the Paris Parade in Santiago de Chile in 2013. Also in the European Capital of Culture 2015 in Pilsen, Czech Republic, the Suwon Cultural Foundation South Korea 2014, the Kazakhstan Expo in Astana 2017… they have even left works reflected in some figures of the well-known Burning Man music festival.
