The Big Dip

The British Gas Big Dip 2011 took place on Clapham Common, London for six weeks over the summer. The UK’s ultimate swim festival was the brainchild of Olympic swimming medallist Steve Parry and gave over 30,000 people the opportunity to experience summer swimming like never before.

The British Gas Big Dip, in association with Speedo, featured two 12m heated outdoor pools and a beach. The event offered a fun day out for the whole family and gave attendees the opportunity to make a splash in the heated pools, relax on the sandy beach or try something completely different. There were loads of fun-packed activities to enjoy including zorbing, a giant slide, a surf rider, a bouncy castle, bungee trampolines, mini peddlarz, paddling pools, beach volleyball and much more.

The UK’s ultimate swim festival builds on the success of a unique project that Total Swimming delivered in the summer of 2009, which brought swimming to one of London’s busiest areas by building a temporary pool on the South Bank of the River Thames. This pool taught over 2,000 people to swim in four weeks and also provided an outdoor facility for people to exercise and try new aquatic activities. 

The British Gas Big Dip hosted big name celebrities from the worlds of sport and entertainment, including Jodie Kidd, Mark Foster (above) and Double Olympic Champion Rebecca Adlington. The Heart FM Breakfast Show with Jamie Theakston was also broadcast live from the festival in a specially painted double decker bus! 

For more information about this event, please visit www.bigdip.co.uk