A decisive step for the revival of the emblematic Athens Olympic Swimming Pool, located in the area of ​​Zappeion, was made with the signing of the memorandum of cooperation between the mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, and the president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Spyros Kapralos.

As part of the memorandum, which was signed at the premises, the Swimming Pool is granted by the EOE for 25 years to the Municipality of Athens, which undertakes its upgrade, renovation and re-operation after 11 years, in order to meet the needs of all residents and city ​​athletes.

The Municipality of Athens and the Hellenic Olympic Committee will jointly proceed with the complete restoration of all its infrastructure, namely the swimming pool, the gym, the changing rooms, the offices, the refreshment room, the electrical installations, but also the judges’ stand.

The Municipality undertakes the financing and implementation of the project, which provides, among other things, the energy upgrade and renovation of the premises. At the same time, he will be responsible for the maintenance of the swimming pool and the availability of the necessary staff for its operation. For its part, the Hellenic Olympic Committee will, among other things, supervise all the planned works, while it will undertake the procedures for issuing the corresponding approvals.

In his statement, the mayor of Athens, Costas Bakoyiannis, emphasized: “One by one, the Athenian landmarks that had been abandoned for years are gaining new life. The Olympic Swimming Pool is an integral part of the history of Athens and after 11 whole years we manage to integrate it again into the life of the city and the Athenians. I sincerely thank the administration of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and personally Mr. Kapralos for this cooperation. The memorandum we are signing today highlights the necessity for this type of partnership that improves the quality of life in our city.”

For his part, the president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Spyros Kapralos, said: “It is a great day for this historic swimming pool and for Greek swimming, as after many years of inactivity and abandonment, thanks to the cooperation with the Municipality of Athens , we signed the agreement for the renovation of the facilities. First of all, I would like to say something important, which has absolutely nothing to do with the pre-elections. This discussion with the mayor started three years ago, but unfortunately at that time the study had not been completed and despite the efforts of three regional governors in the previous years, no solution had been found. Just today the municipality of Athens approved the survey, which enshrines the Hellenic Olympic Committee as the owner of this area and we can now lay the foundations for the reconstruction of the swimming pool, a swimming pool that will be renovated with modern technology and above all with respect to Green Energy.

The Municipality has shown in practice that it knows how to manage respective swimming pools, we saw it in the polo championship in Roof, we also know that the swimming pool in Goudi works perfectly. And so now the residents of Athens will be able to have a swimming pool worthy of their expectations, in the center of the city, while at the same time our national teams will have the opportunity to train in upgraded facilities for the good of Greek swimming. We sincerely thank the Municipality and the Mayor of Athens, Costas Bakoyannis, and we will be close to them during this time, hoping to complete the project in 2026″.

The Athens Olympic Swimming Pool was inaugurated in 1940 and was the first in Greece to have a pool of Olympic dimensions. The Panhellenic Swimming Championship was held here. Until then all swimming competitions were held on the quays of the ports. Since 1940 and for many decades, all the athletes of the national team and many swimming clubs of Athens and Piraeus trained in the only Olympic swimming pool in Athens, in Zappeion.

In 2012, the Swimming Pool suspended its operation due to a lack of financial resources and technical problems, as a result of which the male and female swimmers trained in other swimming pools, hoping at some point to return to the emblematic site of Zappeion.