London's the home of Aquatics GB Swimming Championships until 2028

7 Apr 2024

Aquatics GB are delighted to confirm a five-year partnership with the London Aquatics Centre that will see our flagship Aquatics GB Swimming Championships based at this iconic venue all the way to the LA 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

With the eagerly-awaited Sunday finals session still to come from this year's Speedo Aquatics GB Swimming Championships this evening, British aquatics fans can now look forward to another four years of watching the country's best swimmers in action at the London 2012 pool, as they compete for selection to World Championship and European Championship teams and a host of junior and representative outfits - as well as the GB teams heading to the LA Games in 2028.

This year's competition has seen sold-out crowds witnessing some world-class racing, with the likes of Adam Peaty, Alice Tai and Duncan Scott securing British titles and Paris nomination times - with viewers also watching on from home across live BBC Sport and Channel 4 coverage.

And as we prepare to make this the home of our major swimming and para-swimming event for half-a-decade, Aquatics GB CEO Drew Barrand is relishing the legacy that this could create, for athletes and supporters alike.

"It's been an absolutely brilliant experience in every way at this event, with incredible swims, plenty of our athletes booking tickets to Paris and fantastic atmospheres to match the performances every single day," said Barrand.

"So to know that we will be back here for each of the next four years is hugely exciting for everyone involved with Aquatics GB - and hopefully the thousands of swimmers who will dive in across that period, as well as every fan who will get the chance to watch on in this iconic Olympic and Paralympic venue, feels the same way!

"Our Aquatics GB Swimming Championships deserve a profile befitting of the performances we see from the swimmers in the pool, and this announcement will certainly help to make an annual date in the diary for sports fans in this country."

Mark Basker, Everyone Active’s Regional Contract Manager, said: “This is a very exciting partnership for Everyone Active and the London Aquatics Centre. We’ve only been managing the centre for just over a month and have thoroughly enjoyed hosting the Championships over the past few days.

“The venue is an icon in Olympic and Paralympic history and it’s fantastic that it will continue to play its part in the Games for years to come. We’re very much looking forward to Paris this summer and wish all our British athletes the best of luck!” 

Young fan with GB flag Aquatics GB Swimming Champs 2024

Ahead of his Men’s 200m Freestyle final later on Sunday, Matt Richards – who claimed a stunning 100m Freestyle gold earlier in the week – said of the announcement: “It’s really exciting. Everybody that has been here this week, both as athletes and spectators, has had probably the same experience of this being quite incredible.

“It’s an amazing venue, the crowds have been fantastic – so to be able to come back here, and know we’re here until 2028, it’s amazing. It’s really exciting for the next Olympic and Paralympic cycle.   

Meanwhile, Maisie Summers-Newton has been on domestic and international podiums at the London Aquatics Centre after the 2019 World Championships – and she is relishing the future of this event.

“It’s absolutely amazing. With it being the first time being here for us para-swimmers with the Olympic guys is really, really cool. This pool holds so many memories for so many different people, whether it’s the Paralympics or Olympic Games that everyone went to and watched more than 10 years ago, so it’s really inspiring that we’re for another four years from here,” she said. 

Watch the final night of Speedo Aquatics GB Swimming Championships action online throughout on the C4 Sport YouTube channel or on BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer from 6.45pm.