Collection Pan Arab Luxury Magazine
Related Articles
FIFA and HUBLOT unveil the giant Hublot Official Countdown Clocks – designed by legendary Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer – set for T-365 in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Brasilia.
Jean-Claude Biver, Chairman of Hublot, lifted the veil on the Copacabana in the presence of an impressive array of celebrities and hundreds of media attending the ceremony.
Messieurs Jérôme Valcke, FIFA Secretary General, Pelé, football legend, ambassador to the UN as well as UNESCO and Hublot Ambassador for the FIFA World CupTM in Brazil, Aldo Rebelo, Brazilian Minister of Sports, Luiz Fernando Pezão, vice-governor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, Mayor of the City of Rio de Janeiro, Ricardo Niemeyer, grandson of Oscar Niemeyer, Ana Lucia Niemeyer, Oscar Niemeyer’s grand-daughter and President of the Oscar Niemeyer Foundation, and Jean-Claude Biver, Chairman of Hublot, came together on the most famous of waterfronts, the Copacabana, to jointly unveil one of the event’s stand-out symbols: the official countdown clock of the 2014 FIFA World Cup BrazilTM – today at exactly T minus 365 days to the kick-off of the world’s largest single-sport event.
The clock in Rio is one of three countdown clocks which will grace Brazil for the next year. They as they represent the eager anticipation not only of the people of the Host Country but all over the world of the first FIFA World CupTM to take place in Brazil for 64 years.
These clocks, commissioned especially from Hublot for Brazil, are also the last project to have been personally led by Oscar Niemeyer, the great Brazilian architect – an iconic presence in the country’s culture and one of the most renowned architects of the 20th Century – prior to his passing in December 2012.
At the time, in late 2011, a first meeting was arranged between Oscar Niemeyer, FIFA and Hublot in the architect’s studio on the Copacabana. The chemistry was there instantly and it was with great enthusiasm that Oscar Niemeyer outlined the involvement he was looking forward to having with a project directly related to the FIFA World Cup being held in his country. As a tribute to the great man, Hublot created a Limited Edition Big Bang Oscar Niemeyer watch following this first encounter.
The clocks are installed at the heart of Brazil’s three largest cities to symbolize a welcome to the world and the pride of hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup BrazilTM. They are situated on the Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro; on the prestigious Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima in Sao Paulo; and right next to the famed TV tower in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil and the city that is a testament to Oscar Niemeyer’s architectural design.
Hublot is the Official Timekeeper and the Official Watch of the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup Brazil – as well as of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil, which will be held from 15 to 30 June. Hublot will always and mainly visible on the referee boards.
