Open for everyone: Paris 2024 Olympic Aquatics Centre enters legacy mode

06 June 2025 – Less than a year after hosting Olympic and Paralympic competitions, the Olympic Aquatics Centre has recently re-opened to the public – delivering on the Games’ long-term vision to bring lasting benefits to local communities, create opportunities for everyday sport, and make smart use of public investment. Designed from the outset to serve well beyond the Games, the Centre is now a permanent public facility in one of France’s most underserved areas for sports infrastructure.

Community first

During Paris 2024, the Centre staged Olympic and Paralympic diving, water polo and artistic swimming competitions. Located in Seine-Saint-Denis – a densely populated suburb in the north of Paris, and one of the youngest and most diverse areas in France – the venue reflected a core ambition of the organisers: to bring the Games closer to communities, and to invest in infrastructure with long-term local value. It also embodies the reforms brought forward by the IOC’s strategic roadmap, Olympic Agenda 2020, which places legacy, sustainability and long-term public value at the centre of the planning and delivery of the Olympic Games. Paris 2024 was the first Games edition to fully implement this roadmap.

The Olympic Aquatics Centre represents our ambition to make the Olympic Games more useful and more impactful. It is a venue designed not only to host world-class competition, but also to serve the everyday needs of the wider community for years to come. It shows what is possible when the Olympic Games are planned and organised with a long-term vision in mind.

Marie Sallois, IOC Director for Sustainability

Now reconfigured in its legacy mode, the Olympic Aquatics Centre includes four pools: a 50-metre competition pool, a diving pool, a learning pool for schoolchildren, and a leisure pool open to all. It also offers nine padel courts, a 1,000m² climbing hall, multiple fitness spaces, a restaurant and snack bar, and a sports “recyclerie” that includes co-repair workshops and a solidarity shop for used equipment.

More than 50 new jobs are being created to support the daily operations and programming of the Aquatics Centre, including roles in facility management, sports instruction and visitor services. Recruitment is being prioritised for local residents through partnerships with France Travail and the local authority, Plaine Commune. The venue also acted as a catalyst for local employment during its construction, generating over 80,000 hours of work and providing training opportunities for jobseekers and young people.

As the first completed facility in the broader Grand Pleyel redevelopment zone – a major urban project that will reshape this part of northern Paris through new housing, transport connections and public services – the Aquatics Centre anchors sport as a lasting part of the city’s future.

A new benchmark for sustainable design

With full stands and a dynamic atmosphere, the Centre was one of the most visually distinctive venues of Paris 2024. Athletes competed in world-class conditions beneath a striking timber roof that captured global attention and reflected the sustainable design principles of the Games.

Constructed in under three years on the former industrial site of Plaine Saulnier – adjacent to the Stade de France – the Centre was delivered on time and on budget. The building itself sets a new benchmark for sustainable venue design. Its 90-metre roof is made from 90% bio-sourced French wood from sustainably managed forests. Entirely self-supporting, the structure eliminates the need for internal pillars, providing clear sightlines and a strong architectural identity. The Centre uses 50% less energy than a typical aquatic facility, thanks to features like water recycling, natural ventilation and high-efficiency lighting – contributing to Paris 2024’s ambition to deliver Games with a reduced carbon footprint.

Blending high performance and public use

Looking ahead, the venue will continue to balance high performance with public use, as well as serve as an elite pole for the French Swimming Federation. In 2026, it will serve as a key site for the European Swimming Championships, reinforcing its dual role as both a high-performance environment and a community anchor.

In the coming weeks, the Olympic rings will be installed on the façade, and the venue will be formally named the Centre Aquatique Olympique Métropole du Grand Paris. As it reopens, it stands not only as a reminder of the Games, but also as a lasting asset for the community it was built to serve.

The Olympic Aquatics Centre, an iconic venue of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, will soon become the most popular pool in France. In an area where access to sports infrastructure remains among the lowest in the country, and where too many children are unable to learn to swim, this facility meets long-standing needs.

Marie Barsacq, Minister for Sport, Youth and Community Life, France