Soccer fans have had their patience well and truly tested with the COVID-19 pandemic. And even though regular professional soccer leagues have been playing fairly normally in 2021, albeit with little in the way of live audiences, at least they’ve been playing.

Unfortunately, the 2020 European Championship (UEFA Euro 2020) didn’t fare so well as it was postponed to 2021. Still called Euro 2020 despite it now running in 2021, the massively popular event will officially open on Friday, June 11, 2021, with a match from Group A between Turkey and Italy.

One of the Swiss watch brands getting us in the football mood right now is Hublot, which has significantly invested in professional soccer, sponsoring prestigious teams, hero-worshipped players, tournaments, and even the crown jewel of the sport: the FIFA World Cup.

It is these types of events fusing passionate topics that have helped propel Hublot’s dynamic growth over these past years, both in terms of sales figures and worldwide recognition.

Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020

Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020: a “mistake” on the bezel?

The Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020 is the official watch of the tournament, and there is a interesting detail about it that may interest you even if you normally don’t care much about smartwatches.

The tournament was originally to take place in 12 cities across 12 European countries in 2020, but European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, made a pandemic-driven decision in April 2021 not to allow the Irish capital to go through with its hosting duties. So the four Dublin-planned games have been moved to St. Petersburg and London’s Wembley stadium, meaning that now there are only 11 hosting cities in 11 countries.

Hublot’s Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020 showing live match play

Normally this isn’t even worth mentioning. But Hublot had already made its edition of 1,000 official watches featuring the 12 flags of the hosting countries on the bezel – including the Irish flag at 8 o’clock. Yes, the bezel on the Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020 features the flags of the 12 nations initially planned to host.

If it wasn’t before, this watch is now a collector’s item. Housed in a 42 mm case made of Black Magic, Hublot’s polished black ceramic, this high-quality smartwatch is fitted with an electronic module developed in partnership with other LVMH brands that operates on WearOS by Google.

Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020

The Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020 features an app dedicated to soccer enabling users to follow the competition in real time. Additionally, users can follow the timing aspects of the games with functionality that includes timekeeping, half time, extra time, and the end of the match. The Big Bang e also keeps track of yellow and red cards, player substitutions, penalties, and goals.

The watch additionally provides the option to view information about team lineups, player rankings, and player positions. Owners can also download dials in their country colors gratis, a function exclusively developed for the Big Bang e by the Google Play Store, something that is not compatible with other connected watches.

In the spirit of enjoying soccer again at the highest level, even if still at a distance, here are six Hublot ambassadors and friends of the brand associated with Euro 2020.

Xherdan Shaqiri

Xherdan Shaqiri is doubtlessly Switzerland’s most famous soccer player. According to Wikipedia, in 2018 Shaqiri was even the most Googled personality in Switzerland. And in 2014 he became an Hublot ambassador as I describe in Goooooaaaaaallll! Hublot Colorfully Kicks Off With The FIFA World Cup.

Xherdan Shaqiri wearing the Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020

During Hublot’s 2014 event to introduce him in Zurich, Shaqiri, whose regular team is Liverpool FC, explained that he was an Hublot customer long before the ambassador deal was ever on the table – which may well explain how he has managed to hold on to this ambassadorship for seven years, a record of sorts among Hublot ambassadors.

That or the fact that he is one of Switzerland’s top ten scorers of all time.

Kylian Mbappé

Kylian Mbappé is one of the French national team’s highest-profile players, becoming the youngest French player to ever score at a World Cup during the 2018 tournament – which France went on to win, making Parisian-born Mbappé now a reigning world champion.

Kylian Mbappé wearing the Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020

With his regular team Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappé was the French league’s top scorer in the 2020/2021 season. And with more than 50 million Instagram followers, Mbappé is surely worth the price that Hublot pays for his ambassadorship.

Didier Deschamps

Didier Deschamps is the French national coach and therefore a compatriot of the wildly popular Mbappé. He has been the French team’s head coach since July 2012, taking over the role just after the close of Euro 2012.

Didier Deschamps wearing the Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020

Coming to Euro 2020 as the reigning world champion, Deschamps’ team is certainly the one to beat at this summer’s tournament. France hosted the Euro 2016 tournament and was runner-up, losing to Portugal in a nail-biting final.

Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate is the manager of the English national team, a role he took over in 2016 upon signing a four-year contract.

Gareth Southgate wearing the Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020

Under Southgate’s leadership, the English team put in a stellar performance at the 2018 World Cup, losing only in the semifinals in overtime.

Roberto Martinez

Belgian national manager Roberto Martinez is actually Spanish.

Roberto Martinez wearing a Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020

He signed on as coach with the Belgian team in 2016, which quickly reached the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup, losing to the eventual winners.

Björn Kuipers

Björn Kuipers is a Dutch referee and one of 18 refs appointed for the Euro 2020 tournament. He was born in Oldenzaal, the same city as “the horological brothers,” the Grönefelds. Aside from being a professional referee, Kuipers owns supermarkets and a hair salon in Oldenzaal.

Björn Kuipers wearing the Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020

It is also interesting to note that for the Euro 2020 championship, Hublot will be equipping all the referees officiating during the tournament with special Big Bang e Referee watches. This version helps the refs to manage the timekeeping of the matches as well as extra time.

The watches will also be connected to the goal-line technology, which helps determine whether a goal has been scored or not, as well as the VAR video control system, which reviews decisions made by the head referee.

And now let’s gooooooooo! Which team are you rooting for?

For more information, please visit www.hublot.com/en-us/watches/big-bang/big-bang-e-uefa-euro-2020.

Quick Facts Hublot Big Bang e UEFA Euro 2020
Case: 42 x 12.8 mm, polished ceramic
Movement: Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor (Google), lithium-ion rechargeable battery, power reserve approx. one day
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds (digital); date, second time zone, times of sunrise/sunset power reserve; pulse sensor, compass, speed, NFC, microphone, calendar, weather forecast, various micro apps, Synopsis multi-feature display, soccer app
Limitation: 1,000 pieces
Price: $5,800 / €5,700 / CHF 5,500

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