Manchester Aquatics Centre

After a two-year, 31million pound refurbishment, Manchester Aquatics Centre, the country’s busiest swimming pool, is set to reopen in the summer of 2023. Purpose-built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Aquatics Centre on 12 October 2000, and it welcomed around half a million visitors each year before its temporary closure.

Manchester Aquatics Centre is a striking building on Oxford Road with a distinctive roof shaped like a wave. Inside, three high-quality gyms, two 50m swimming pools, a health suite and an extensive fitness class programme. The two main pools are adaptable, splitting into sections of varying depths and dimensions and depths.

The refurbishment scheme will grow the centre’s aquatics and fitness programmes for the next 20 years. This will include upgrading works to all areas of the centre, including the pools, fitness studios, health suites, cafe and changing places facility. The refurb will introduce new digital and sustainable technologies helping to make the centre more energy efficient and to provide a more modern and efficient building in the long term.