If we can clean the Seine for three days of swimming… what’s next?
Three historic days of swimming in the Seine during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have sparked a much-needed global movement: to make urban waters clean, safe, and accessible for all.
This week, Rotterdam took center stage as host of the Swimmable Cities Summit, where experts, advocates, practitioners, and decision-makers came together to catalyze a new wave for urban swimming.
As Wavemakers United, we were honored to both open the event—led by Oumaima Ouaissa—and close it with an inspiring message from Daphne van der Vaart.
We also hosted two moderated sessions on water literacy, featuring Tilly Stroo and Lucas Vroom (Municipality of Rotterdam). Together, we sparked dialogue—mostly about water accessibility for all—and shared concrete ideas. One big takeaway?
➡️ Start simple: Even if your city has never done it before—just try, test, and learn, because we need to adapt now.
The summit was just the beginning.
We expanded our network, connected with global water professionals, and left inspired by the energy of this growing movement. And we’re especially excited that this work won’t stop in Rotterdam.
🚀 What’s next?
We’re partnering with the Municipality of Rotterdam to give guest lectures at local schools, raising awareness around clean urban water and access. Even more: we’re making Swimmable Cities a core focus across all our Waves moving forward.
Big thanks to Elizabeth Hameeteman for internal organization, the Tauw Foundation for supporting us and to Wavemaker Lady Merle Liivand aka The Mermaid for her powerful message. A big thanks to the entire organizing team—Matt Sykes, Chris Romer-Lee, and many others—for making this incredible summit happen.
