Toronto skyline

Tonight it’s the opening ceremony of the XVII Pan American Games, produced and directed by Cirque du Soleil, and according to this Toronto Star story, it will be the largest event produced by the company.

We’re used to see watch companies taking care of timekeeping at major sporting events, but not this time. To my surprise, the official timekeeper of the Games is Atos. I have to admit, I never heard of this brand, and in my innocence, I’ve Googled “Atos watch” without getting any relevant results. Finally, I realized that Atos is a French multinational IT services corporation and has nothing to do watchmaking.

Now, I know who Atos is, but as a watch nerd, I would have loved to see a watch brand taking in charge the timekeeping of these games. I think, this was a huge opportunity missed by the many brands making chronographs.