On June 24, 2025, it finally happened: Rotterdam hosted the very first Swimmable Cities Summit – an international gathering of more than 200 representatives from over 20 countries, all committed to creating clean, safe, and accessible urban waterways.
A special highlight: Over 150 organizations from 30 countries signed the Swimmable Cities Charter – including RESTUBE. We are proud to be part of this global movement with the mission of transforming urban waterways into healthy, vibrant, and swimmable places.
A strong signal for the future of cities
The summit began with a spectacular “Opening Splash”: Over 200 swimmers – including Olympian Toby Robinson and American ultra-marathon swimmer Katie Pumphrey – jumped into Rotterdam’s Rijnhaven. This marked not only the start of the conference but also a celebration of World Bathing Day.
In keynotes, panels, and workshops, the focus was on crucial topics – from water quality and biodiversity, to urban swimming place design, all the way to education, inclusion, and international collaboration.
Most importantly, a new international research initiative was launched to develop a global “swimmability” standard. This will help cities worldwide measure the state of their waterways, compare progress, and accelerate tangible improvements.
Why we are part of it
For RESTUBE, water is not only a habitat but also a place of connection and activity. From the very beginning, our mission has been to provide people with more safety in the water – while at the same time fostering the joy of swimming and water sports. This summer, we actively supported the safety concept in Paris with our swim buoys to help make the Seine swimmable again.
Becoming part of the Swimmable Cities Alliance now makes us both proud and happy. Because: being able to swim safely first requires that waters are accessible and clean in the first place. Achieving this takes a global movement – and we are glad to contribute our part.
Looking ahead
The Swimmable Cities Summit in Rotterdam is just the beginning. Inspired by the momentum of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris – where the Seine was used for the marathon swimming competition for the first time in decades – this movement shows: urban waters can be reclaimed, for nature, people, and communities. A milestone was also celebrated in Chicago: for the first time since 1927, hundreds of people swam in the Chicago River – once notorious as a sewage canal – in an event organized by the initiative A Long Swim.
At RESTUBE, we are excited to shape this transformation together with so many passionate partners.
And because water is our element, we will also celebrate this commitment on the upcoming World Rivers Day – united for vibrant rivers, lakes, and oceans around the globe.
More info: swimmablecities.org
