Love your lido

London Fields Lido

Lido Love is a unique night of art and music celebrating a locally-made history of London Fields Lido on Saturday 9 January.

Led by public art curator Adriana Marques, the organisers are calling on local campaigners and swimmers to share their stories, photos and memorabilia from the pool’s past at this one-off event.

Lido Love provides an opportunity for campaigners and the local community to celebrate what is now one of the most used outdoor swimming pools in London, and a unique chance to show that London Fields Lido is more than just a sporting facility.

Marques said, “Most people who go the regularly don’t know about the amazing history the Lido has.”

A number of avid swimmers have already been in touch with her through the London Fields Lido User Group with photos and stories which will be hidden in the lockers for visitors to encounter as they arrive.

Small art installations by local artists will be showcased in the outside changing rooms, accompanied by outdoor films screenings of found footage from the pool, along with a live band and a magician. Hot winter food and drinks will be available from the lido’s café.

Tracey Emin will be showing her film Why I Never Became a Dancer (1995) at the event (she has a studio based in Hackney, and wrote the foreword to the book, Liquid Assets: The Lidos and Open Air Swimming Pools of Britain; she is also a keen swimmer).

First opened in 1932, the London Fields Lido was enjoyed by swimmers for years, both pre and post war, until it was closed – like many others across London – by funding cuts in 1988.

However, London Fields Lido proved to occupy a special place in the heart of the community. For 18 years local people campaigned to have it re-opened, including a close call with the bulldozers in 1989 when they managed to halt the planned demolition. They followed this with a series of petitions and more campaigning to save the pool, which re-opened in October 2006.

Lido Love takes place 7.00-8.30pm Saturday 9 January 2010 at London Fields Lido, London Fields Westside E8 3EU.

For more information phone 020 7254 9038. Tickets are £5.00 and available here.

To get involved and to submit your contributions, email londonlidolove@gmail.com or join their Facebook group here and view the updated programme.

Lido Love is a not for profit event. Money raised from ticket sales will be used to cover production costs.