Hyde Park’s Serpentine pond – the venue for the London 2012 open water marathon swims – will host a new mass-participation swimming festival in September.
Organised by London Marathon Events, Swim Serpentine is a one-mile swim open to the public taking place on 24 September. Like the London Marathon, those keen to compete will be put into a public ballot and drawn at random.
The public ballot system for entry will close on Friday 13 May. It will cost £39 (US$57, €50) to enter, and 6,000 people are expected to take part.
“It is great to see mass participation events like this encouraging more people to get involved in swimming,” said Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) chief executive Adam Paker.
The second day of the festival (25 September) will feature the British Open Water Swimming Championships – an elite invitation 5km swim.
“Combining Swim Serpentine with the British Open Water Swimming Championships provides a great opportunity for casual swimmers to feel part of the wider swimming family, and hopefully inspire them to continue to swim in future,” added Paker.
The Hyde Park event follows the inaugural Open Water Swimming Festival, which is being hosted by the ASA in July. It will also incorporate the elite National Open Water Championships as well as a 1,500m mass-participation event.
Outdoor swimming has enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance of late. Architecture practice Studio Octopi are currently
working to resurrect Peckham Rye Lido – and are also bidding to create floating baths on the Thames – while developer and operator Thames Lido is aiming to replicate its Bristol Lido
success on a new project in Reading.
