Swimmable Cities: the urban swimming movement

The first Swimmable Cities summit was held in Rotterdam in the Netherlands last month. It started with a ‘big splash’ on International Bathing Day. Ella Foote jumped in and discovered there is hope for our waterways. 

It wasn’t just world leaders gathering in the Netherlands in June, over 200 representatives from over 20 countries united and plunged into the water at the world’s first Swimmable Cities Summit in Rotterdam. British Olympian Toby Robinson and American Ultramarathon swimmer Katie Pumphrey were among the delegates who started the summit with an ‘opening splash’ into Rotterdam’s Rijnhaven, one of the oldest ports on the south bank of the Nieuwe Maas River. The summit was held less than a year into the beginning of an international alliance that includes 153 organisations across 83 cities and towns, and 30 countries.  

The Swimmable Cities alliance was formed after the project to clean up the River Seine climaxed at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The summit builds on work done in Paris and across other European cities to create a global network of swimmable urban waterways. “Last summer, I took part in one of the most significant and talked about swims in history – the marathon swimming event at the Paris Olympic Games,” says Team GB athlete Toby Robinson. “That moment demonstrated to me that The Olympic Games can be a force for change, inspiring tangible action to make cleaner, healthier waterways for entire urban populations and this week I was at the summit to put my weight behind this important global movement.” 

A three-day programme of presentations, workshops (with swimming breaks) brought together government, grassroot communities and business leaders to explore the development of urban swimming. As cities and communities across the world face climate change, biodiversity loss and increasing urbanisation, people are rediscovering and reclaiming their rivers and harbours. It isn’t just the UK that has seen an increase in wild and outdoor swimming, there is a growing international community who love to swim. But many of the world’s waterways remain unsafe, unhealthy and inaccessible for swimmers and wildlife. There is an urgent need for better collaboration around improvement strategies and, crucially, better data to determine the ‘swimmability’ of the world’s urban water.  

The summit was held on the banks of the Nieuwe Maas River in the Rijnhaven which is now home to a floating park and designated swimming area, the only legal place to swim in Rotterdam’s city centre. It is a great example of what a city can do when it commits to water management and climate change. “Rotterdam is a city shaped by water – and increasingly, reclaimed by it in the best possible way. Hosting the world’s first Swimmable Cities Summit reflects our deep commitment to creating healthy, inclusive and climate-resilient urban environments,” says City of Rotterdam Vice Mayor, Pascal Lansink-Bastemeijer. “This summit is not just about swimming – it’s about restoring our relationship with water, and leading together toward cleaner, more liveable cities for future generations.” 

The summit explored several themes which included, governance around the right to swim and nature rights, waterway restoration and water quality, swimming communities, investment from public and private partnerships, water literacy and education and water diplomacy across nations. “Access to water should be a civil right, not a nice to have” says Toby. “Nothing is free in London, but here anyone can turn up and swim, for free, in the Rijnhaven and as a result the area is buzzing with energy. Local restaurants, cafes and bars are full, it isn’t just healthy for the community it is healthy for the local economy too. If swimmers are thriving, then their city is.” 

“Every citizen should feel that urban waterways are theirs to experience and protect,” says Oumaima Ouaissa, Youth Leader at Wavemakers United, a non-profit community of students, young professionals, and athletes with a passion for water. “Clean and safe urban waterways are not just environmental assets, they are vital spaces for connection, health and wellbeing.”

The Swimmable Cities alliance has launched an international research initiative to establish a baseline for the swimmability of urban waterways worldwide. This means collaboration across environmental science, urban planning, public health and community engagement. It is about establishing ‘swimmability’ as an indicator for urban liveability; with specific criteria to benchmark waterway health, accessibility, biodiversity, and social impact. The process will allow cities to measure progress, share best practices, and accelerate the transformation of polluted or neglected waterways into safe and swimmable public spaces. “This Summit demonstrates that city swimming is not just possible, it’s a right.  By the time a city is swimmable, it is more climate resilient, healthier and more equitable,” says Matt Sykes, Co-Founder & Convenor, Swimmable Cities. 

While the UK is plagued with media reports of ecologically dead rivers, dumped sewage and poor water quality, you could assume we are alone in our issues. But not only are Brits world-famous for their love of wild water, we lead when it comes to community groups connecting and swimming regardless. The act of swimming has become an act of protest, whether that is for access to water, clean bathing areas or protection of our environments. The summit highlighted common issues across borders and rather than that feeling bleak, it felt quietly hopeful. If water can bring us together from our local communities to form a global bond, then Swimmable Cities could be a strategy for our world leaders to pay attention to. It demonstrates that urban swimming is not just a passing trend but a movement that could have social, economic and climate benefits. 

Swimmable Cities Charter 

The purpose: 

– Making peace with nature 

– Promoting the rights to life 

– Empowering people in practice 

– Swimming to sustainable development 

– Investing in a better future for all 

– Connecting south, north, east & west 

Founding Principles 

1. THE RIGHT TO SWIM: 

Safe, healthy and swimmable waterways should be accessible to all people. 

2. ONE HEALTH, MANY SWIMMERS: 

Swimmable urban waterways are vital to the liveability of cities and communities, as shared civic places that promote the health of people 

3. URBAN SWIMMING CULTURE: 

Urban swimming culture is a unique expression of life in cities and communities, reflecting the distinct interplay of sports, recreation and tourism. 

4. WATER IS SACRED: 

Urban swimming should celebrate natural waterways as living, integrated entities that nurture communities, promoting universal accessibility and peaceful coexistence inclusive of religious, cultural and gender diversity. 

5. REWRITING THE RULES: 

Urban waterway swimming should become part of a new status quo in public access standards with governing authorities swiftly amending legal and regulatory frameworks to enable citizens access to its benefits. 

6. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION IN SWIMMING PLACES: 

Urban swimming places and experiences should be planned, designed, made and operated through inclusive, integrated water management approaches. 

7. RECONNECTION & RESILIENCE: 

Urban swimming places and experiences should be invested in as an innovative way to enable resilient communities to adapt and thrive in a changing global climate, environment and economy. 

8. NEW ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES 

Urban swimming development models should balance social, cultural, ecological and economic values, creating new jobs, careers and livelihoods in regenerative professions and industries. 

9. SHARING WELLBEING BENEFITS, CULTURE & KNOWLEDGE: 

Urban swimming should create wellbeing benefits to local citizens, ecosystems and economies; enhanced by the respectful sharing of Indigenous, traditional and Western water culture knowledge. 

10. STEWARDSHIP FOR TODAY, TOMORROW & FUTURE GENERATIONS: 

Urban swimmers are stewards responsible for protecting the health of their local waterways, working alongside Mother Earth’s closest carers, such as Indigenous peoples, rangers and waterkeepers as well as urbanists, architects, social changemakers, educators and policy-makers. 

For more information or to get involved, visit swimmablecities.org