Business Daily

The development of new sports stadiums and facilities can bring regeneration to deprived areas. They hold a special place in the hearts of sports and live music fans. But have some of the new ones lost their spark?

In this edition of Business Daily, Sam Fenwick asks, what gives a stadium its atmosphere and can it be designed in?

Sam speaks to Christopher Lee, whose architecture practice, Populous, has designed 3000 arenas all over the world. He shares his experience of designing iconic grounds like the Yankee Stadium, Wembley Stadium, and Olympic stadiums in Sydney, London and Sochi.

And we hear from BBC World Service listeners, who tell us what makes their favourite sports grounds so special.

(Picture: Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Brayan Bello (66) throws a pitch against the Kansas City Royals in the third inning at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts. Credit: David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports)

Presented and produced by Sam Fenwick

We’re in Kentucky, where an area which had long ago been abandoned as an industrial site is once again coming to life.

US manufacturer Ascend Elements has chosen the site to build a factory for electric car batteries made from recycled ones - an industry previously almost entirely based in China.

We explore the government incentives that have drawn the company to build here with US Climate Envoy John Kerry.

And we hear from the local mining community which is hoping the new green manufacturing facility may provide much needed jobs.

Presenter: Faisal Islam

(Image: A worker at the factory building site in Kentucky. Credit: BBC)

For years, balsa wood has been a key component in the giant rotor blades on the top of wind turbines. Most of it comes from the rain forests of South America and, in particular, from Ecuador.

As the world transitions to green energy, lots of countries – particularly China – have been looking for more balsa to make blades. That pushed up prices, raised questions over sustainability and prompted some companies to look for alternatives to balsa wood. One alternative is PET, a foam made from recycled plastic bottles.

So what should we be using to make the wind turbine blades of the future – biodegradable balsa wood or plastic foam made from old bottles?

We talk to people on both sides of the debate and visit a wind farm in rural England to see the blades in action.

(Picture: Crook Hill wind farm in Rochdale, north of England.)

Presented and produced by Gideon Long

In an effort to insulate domestic prices, India has banned exports of non basmati white rice - its largest rice category.

We ask what the impact of this is on large importing countries.

A rice mill owner in Northern Nigeria tells us how the country is expanding its domestic rice production as a result of India’s curb, and we hear from a retailer in the UAE about the purchasing restriction it placed on customers as soon as the announcement was made.

We look at whether other countries can meet the shortfall of rice in global supply and what this could mean for global food security.

Presenter: Devina Gupta

From Bangladesh to Wall Street and back again, the founder and CEO of Impact Investment Exchange talks to Devina Gupta.

Durreen Shahnaz explains how her childhood in socialist Bangladesh and then move to a job on Wall Street in the 1980s shaped the person and businesswoman she is today.

From trading stamps with her friends and buying pickles with the profit, she moved on to bigger trades at the heart of capitalism. What she learnt there set her up for a life dedicated to trying to make the financial system work for those most in need.

Presenter: Devina Gupta

(Image: Durreen Shahnaz. Credit: Durreen Shahnaz)

Shares in GameStop, the video game store, experienced a dramatic rise in early in 2021. The stock had captured the imagination of many individual investors who heard about it on social media platforms such as TikTok and Reddit.

Some investors made a lot of money, while some hedge funds, who had bet against the stock, lost billions. Eventually, though, GameStop shares crashed back to earth and many investors lost the lot.

The story has been dramatised by Hollywood in ‘Dumb Money’, currently screening in cinemas.

Vivienne Nunis sits down with the film’s director Craig Gillespie and financial journalist Matt Levine to investigate what the GameStop saga teaches us about the power of social media when it comes to influencing the movements of the stock market.

(Picture: Paul Dano as Keith Gill in 'Dumb Money'. Credit: Sony Pictures)

Presented and produced by Vivienne Nunis

In May this year, Nigerian president Bola Tinubu took office – and announced an end to fuel subsidies.

He said the move would free up money for investment in public services and infrastructure projects, but it caused a spike in prices and, in some cases, triggered street protests.

We explore the impact of removing the subsidy on residents and businesses, and the knock on-effect for neighbouring countries like Cameroon.

Presenter/producer: Bisi Adebayo

(Image: Members of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) holds a placard during a march in Abuja on August 2, 2023. Credit: Getty Images)

In 2020, Napa Valley experienced its most destructive wildfire ever. Vineyards burned, leaving not only direct damage, but more long lasting impact with wine affected by smoke taint.

We hear how the perennial presence of wildfires means local businesses face a harsh reality of living with the risk of fire. Sophie Long visits wine makers who are using inflammable materials to build new wineries, changing growing techniques and using technology to deal with tainted wine.

And she meets local residents learning firefighting techniques - all to keep smoke out of your wine glass and the billion dollar industry thriving.

Presenter: Sophie Long

(Image: Burned grapes hang on a damaged vine at a vineyard as the Glass fire continues to burn in Calistoga, California on October 1, 2020. Credit: Getty Images)

The event is facing its biggest financing challenge in its 93-year history.

There is no host city for the next edition in 2026, and the Commonwealth Games Federation is struggling to persuade other cities to host after that.

We speak to academics who say the model of structuring and paying for the Games is broken. Some observers go further – saying the Games and the Commonwealth itself are relics of the British Empire and should be wound up.

We also hear from athletes who have competed at the Games and highlight their importance for their respective sports and countries.

And we look at one city that has hosted with relative success – within budget and with long-lasting benefits to civic infrastructure.

Producer/Presenter: Gideon Long

(Image: The closing ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Credit: Getty Images)

We speak to Greek designer Dimitra Petsa - founder of Di Petsa - a brand which has been worn by celebrities around the world.

She graduated from fashion school five years ago and since then has launched her own fashion brand.

Very few make it in the fashion world - Dimitra explains how she did it from mentors and getting exposure to creating business plans and coming up with business strategies.

Producer/presenter: Hannah Mullane

(Picture: Models wearing Di Petsa clothing. Credit Di Petsa)