Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne was the guest of honour at the opening night of Omega House in Rio de Janeiro, a spectacular residence that will host a string of events throughout the Olympics to celebrate the watch brand being Official Timekeeper for the Games.
The Omega headquarters for the games is located inside Casa de Cultura Laura Alvim on Ipanema Beach.
With views out across the sand and palm trees, the interior of the members-only club has been created around the pillars of the Omega brand with themed rooms dedicated to sports timekeeping, space exploration, ocean heritage, ladies’ timepieces and watchmaking innovation.
The first VVIP through the door was Omega brand ambassador Mr Redmayne and his wife Hannah, who expressed his excitement at being in Rio for the Games.
“I’ve never been to Brazil before. But this country has such a reputation for energy, for vibrancy, for culture, dance and music. But all of my expectations have been superseded. My wife and I feel very lucky to be here,” said Mr Redmayne.
Other famous faces at the opening night were His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco; legendary Brazilian sailor and Omega friend, Torben Grael; Brazilian designer Francisco Costa; and American actress Camilla Belle.
Omega president and CEO Raynald Aeschlimann, was delighted to welcome stars of screen, stage and sport to the exclusive venue. “This House means a lot to us. A lot of passion and spirit has gone into making Omega House a wonderful destination for the Olympic Games and the perfect place to celebrate our role as Official Timekeeper, which is such an important part of our brand.”
Omega has been Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games 27 times since 1932.
Omega staff will need to have undergone extensive altitude training to maintain peak performance throughout the Games. Following the spectacular opening night of Omega House, the brand’s team were back the following evening for Gold Night, which welcomed Brazilian supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio as guest of honour.
The Gold Night also hosted Brazilian fashion guru Christina Pitanguy.
