Everyone Active helm London Aquatics Centre

Image: London Legacy Development Corporation

More than 10 years on since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has appointed Everyone Active, the longest-established leisure contractor in the United Kingdom, as the new operator for the London Aquatics Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.

‘HCM’ stated that the eight-year contract (with the option to extend) will cover the operation of the award-winning Dame Zaha Hadid’s- designed building. The world-class facilities include two 50-meter pools, a dive pool with distinctive diving platforms, as well as a 100-station gym, café and ancillary facilities.

London (UK)-based the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) is an organization established in 2012 replacing the Olympic Park Legacy Company and the planning powers of the Olympic Delivery Authority. It was formed as a Mayoral Development Corporation under the powers of the Localism Act 2011.

Leicestershire (UK)-based Everyone Active is a leisure management contractor in the United Kingdom that manages over 200 leisure and cultural facilities. The company was founded in 1987 as Sports and Leisure Management and has grown to partner with 60 local authorities.

The London Aquatics Centre is an indoor facility with two 50-meter swimming pools and a 25-meter diving pool and sits in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London (UK).

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in East London (UK). It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics and is situated adjacent to the Stratford City Development (a mixed-use development project).

Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid was an Iraqi and British architect, artist and designer, recognized as a major figure in architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. She passed away in 2016.

‘HCM’ further stated that the London Aquatics Centre hosts local, Londonwide and national galas and since London 2012 has been host to major championships including the European Aquatics Championships (2016), the World Para Swimming Championships (2019) and multiyear dates for the International Swimming Federation (FINA) Diving World Series. The London Aquatics Centre attracts more than one million visits a year for community use and learn-to-swim programs as well as club and elite performance training.

Said Edward Fane, Head of Venues at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, “The Zaha Hadid-designed London Aquatics Centre is one of the world’s best aquatics venues where elite athletes train alongside community users and talent pathways that can link the two, with thousands coming to learn, swim and dive here each week. This prestigious and high-value contract is critically important to the long-term legacy of the Games of London 2012 and we thank the Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) (a charitable social enterprise) for their great service for operating the venue since 2014. We look forward to working in partnership with Everyone Active for the next eight years, to deliver continuous improvement and build on the remarkable aquatics legacy to date, whilst driving best value for the taxpayer and the local communities.”

Stated Duncan Jefford, Everyone Active’s Regional Director, “We’re delighted to be awarded the contract to operate the world-class London Aquatics Centre renowned for hosting major sporting events including the Olympics and Paralympics. The facility champions elite sport alongside swimming, diving and sports activities for the local community. This is an incredibly exciting time for Everyone Active, and this new partnership with the London Legacy Development Corporation marks a monumental step for our business at an iconic sports venue. We look forward to continuing the legacy of this state-of-the-art facility and inspiring the next generation of sportspeople. As a company that started out 36 years ago running a single site, it is fantastic to continue our growth across the United Kingdom, now reaching more than 230 leisure and cultural facilities.”

Added Jefford, “We remain unwavering in our commitment to providing leisure services and facilities tailored to the unique needs of the local communities. We take huge pride in offering opportunities for people of all ages, abilities and interests to engage in physical activity.”

Everyone Active is the longest-established leisure contractor in the United Kingdom having been founded in 1987. Today, Everyone Active manages in excess of 230 leisure facilities and cultural services in partnership with more than 60 local authorities.

Everyone Active aims to get communities active, engaged and entertained through a wide range of activities and services that include sports, coaching, culture, events, and health services.

They currently manage a vast range of indoor and outdoor facilities including theaters, swimming pools, spas, sports halls, squash courts, studios, fitness suites, climbing walls, cafés, golf courses, athletics stadia, and sports pitches.

The LLDC was seeking to award a new operating contract for this world-class facility for the first time since the original tender in 2011. The feedback from the suppliers through a Market Sounding Questionnaire in the Summer of 2021 has helped to shape the format and content of the new contract. The GLL continue to operate the venue before handing over to Everyone Active on March 1st, 2024.

The memberships of all current direct debit customers will automatically transfer to Everyone Active on March 1st, 2024, and these customers will receive full details on this process from Everyone Active in due course. To ensure a smooth transition process, Everyone Active will not change the current program initially and all clubs and user groups will be consulted on an individual basis.

The Award is being made in another year of evolution for the Park, with the opening of the new East Bank cultural development adjoining the Centre, starting in 2023, and more and more people choosing to work, live and study in the Park.

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• LLDC
• London
• London Legacy
• Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

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