Swiss luxury watch brand Hublot has partnered with MEIS architects to launch a metaverse stadium project ahead of the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The ‘Hublot Loves Football Metaverse Stadium’ represents the company’s first entry into the metaverse. Hublot serves as a FIFA-branded licensee for Qatar 2022 under a long-running partnership with world football’s governing body.
Designed by MEIS, the stadium is envisioned to be a hybrid sport, art, and digital events space, with its structure inspired by the design of the case body and digital face of Hublot’s recently launched ‘Big Bang e’ watch.
The stadium also marks the largest venue built in the Spatial metaverse. The experience will be open to the general public via mobile and online on Spatial.io, allowing anyone to explore the 90,000-capacity stadium, which is equipped with a kilometre-long concourse and media wall.
Ricardo Guadalupe, Hublot CEO, said: “Loud and forward-thinking approaches to design are part of our DNA, making the Hublot Loves Football Metaverse Stadium a natural progression for our brand.
“Continuing our legacy as the trusted timekeeper of world football, this initiative allows us to place a timestamp in metaverse history when the intersection of luxury, fashion, sport and virtual worlds is beginning to take off.
“Football provides a place for us to unite and celebrate our shared dreams, and we are extending football into a new realm. We invite you to gaze through the porthole into this new world, where you can discover our Hublot Loves Football latest visuals starring our ambassadors and friends of the brand.”
Dan Meis, founder and managing principal of MEIS, added: “In designing this stadium, we took inspiration from Hublot’s brave, unapologetic, and unparalleled approach to design.
“By referencing the Big Bang e, the project mirrors Hublot’s storied history of introducing new dimensions of design to new audiences. This partnership encapsulates all the world has come to know from Hublot and MEIS: a forward-thinking design philosophy paired with an attention to detail that is timeless and without equal.”
As part of the Hublot Loves Football campaign, dedicated exhibitions equipped for the VR experience to access the stadium will pop up next to Hublot boutiques in shopping malls in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand across November.
