Biel/Lucerne, 29 April 2008. Swatch, the Swiss watch and jewellery manufacturer, whose creations set global trends, will be the presenting partner of the “Blue Balls Festival” on 18 – 26 July 2008 in Lucerne. Swatch has signed a three-year contract with the “Blue Balls Festival”. This is regarded as one of the leading music festivals in German-speaking Switzerland and attracts around 100,000 visitors. The commitment by Swatch to an event of this kind is a true reflection of the brand´s distinctive values, i.e. joy of live, fun and intense emotions. Swatch will demonstrate this during the festival by presenting its latest watch and jewellery collections.

Along with sport, art and fashion, music is one of the four pillars on which innovation is based at Swatch. As presenting partner of the “Blue Balls Festival” in Lucerne, Swatch is taking a perfect opportunity to present its creations to a large audience in a unique atmosphere: at such attractive venues as the Culture and Congress Center, the Lucerne Pavillon and the Schweizerhof Hotel, some 100,000 music fans will revel in blues, jazz, soul, funk, world music, rock and pop melodies or admire and enjoy music photos and videos exhibitions during the nine-day festival.

With this three-year commitment in Lucerne, Swatch is adopting a high profile on the Swiss musical and cultural scene.

The Swatch presence in Lucerne will be both conceptual and material. On the eve of the last festival day, 25 July beginning at 5 p.m., the trendsetter from Biel in the Watch, Jewellery and Fashion Branch will be presenting the latest watches and jewels from its autumn/winter collection 2008 before these creations go on sale in retail stores.