With Expo 2020 Dubai fast approaching, Official Timing Provider Swatch is preparing its innovative contribution to the event in time for the opening on 1 October. With the theme of “Connecting Minds,Creating the Future”, Expo 2020 is the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and the South
Asia (MEASA) region. Swatch is celebrating this world first with a new collection of special edition watches, four concept stores, and the Swatch Calling initiative, designed to celebrate diversity through art around the globe.
Nine new Swatch timepieces and two new Flik Flak models from the Official Expo 2020 Dubai Collection are set to go on sale across the globe on 1 October – just in time for the start of Expo. The new models include AL HOB (meaning “love” in English), featuring a bio-sourced plastic case and red and white strap with an intricate design; AL-AZEEMA (a bold blue watch whose name aptly translates to “resolution” in English) brings SwatchPAY! to the collection; and AL-TASAMOH, a stunning stainless steel watch whose name translates to “tolerance”, a message more important than ever in our times.
Swatch’s physical presence at Expo 2020 will span four brick-and-mortar stores, situated at the Welcome Plaza and in the Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability districts. The main and largest store, which measures more than 80m2, is located at the Welcome Plaza, where guests can view various Swatch watch models from the past and present. Here, visitors can learn more about the brand, design their own customized Swatch X You watch and even see how it’s printed on-site.
The other three stores each span 30 m2 and share the name of the districts in which they are located. Mobility gives visitors the chance to virtually explore the Swatch Art Peace Hotel and the new Swatch headquarters, a landmark in sustainable design by the renowned Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. Inspired by movement and connection, it’s also set to introduce the innovative Swatch PAY! technology to Expo attendees. Opportunity focuses on giving local artists a platform, featuring a regularly changing display of new local artwork on its facade. Finally, Sustainability shines a spotlight on bio-innovative materials, and contains a display inviting guests to interact with the materials.
As part of Expo, 192 countries participating in this year’s event will each celebrate a National Day. Swatch is getting in on the act with its exciting Swatch Calling initiative, inviting emerging artists from each nation to create a canvas celebrating their country’s culture for the brand’s Swatch X You customization platform. The chosen canvases will be launched in occasion of the relevant National Day on Swatch X You international channels. The initiative is a celebration of global diversity through art and marks another first for this year’s event: the Swatch X You customization platform will be available in the United Arab Emirates.
A World Expo event takes place every five years, providing a platform for leading-edge innovation, trailblazing invention and inspirational thinking for the improvement of the modern world. Expo 2020 Dubai is the largest event ever held in the Arab world and the very first World Expo held in the Middle East, Africa and the South Asia (MEASA) region.
Swatch is proud of its enduring association with World Expos, throughout the past 34 years, Swatch has been an official partner at six World Expos, including Canada in 1986, Spain in 1992, Portugal in 1998, Switzerland in 2002, China in 2010 and Italy in 2015.
