The Palau Sant Jordi is a multipurpose building with a seating capacity of 12,000, designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki for the 1992 Olympics. Inside, a temporary 50-metre pool will be the setting for some of the most emblematic events of the Championships.

Its all-purpose capacity turns it into the ideal setting to hold any kind of event that congregates a great number of people, from concerts to conferences and to any type of sports event.

In this venue -considered one of Barcelona's architectural jewels- the AstralPool company will install a 50 x 25-metre temporary swimming pool, designed especially for the 10th FINA World Swimming Championships, where the swimming events and men's water polo finals will take place.

      - Characteristics
      - What it looks like
      - Services
      - How to get there

Characteristics

The swimming pool that will be temporarily installed in the Palau Sant Jordi is one of the most advanced in the world, owing to the cutting-edge technical innovations in the sector. Some of these novelties had been tried out experimentally in the 2001 Fukuoka World Championships and the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, but others will be used for the first time in this sports event.

• The pool's main sign of identity will be its floating structure, which can be installed without the need for a single nail. The technicians have decided to set up a metallic structure over the sports centre's floor -on which it will rest, as if it were a floating basin of 50 x 25 metres. This means that the Barcelona 03 swimming pool will be the largest in the world using this new technology.



• Furthermore, Barcelona 03 will have its own models of cork lane dividers and starting podiums, which are the most advanced that have been patented up until today. These elements have been devised to provide swimmers with more comfort. For example, the corks have internal turbines that absorb the movement of the water, whilst the incline of the podiums can be regulated individually to make the start of the race easier for the competitors.



• On the other hand, this advanced swimming pool, which will be assembled in record-breaking time, will have the most ecological systems of disinfecting and filtering water that are known. Ozone is used for disinfecting the water, which, unlike chlorine, does not cause irritation to skin or eyes.



• Another characteristic that should be pointed out is that the pool, which holds 2,500 cubic metres of water, will be provided with an overflow trough on each of its four sides. This way, the water that the swimmers displace can spill over any side, and its momentum is neutralised more easily, which helps the surface of the water to stay as still as possible.

The Barcelona World Championships will be the first competition that adopts this system. In Fukuoka in 2001, pioneering experiments like this were carried out, but the overflow trough was only placed on two of the four sides.

What it looks like

The swimming pool will occupy the regulation surface of 50 x 25 metres and will be 2 metres deep; a ten-metre-wide platform will be installed to cover the floor around the pool. In this way, a "beach" will be created, becoming a restricted area for swimmers, judges, and the essential technical staff (time-keeping tasks, TV staff, etc.) for the events.

The space between the pool and the lower grandstand will be covered with a platform and a transparent canvas, which can then be lit from below, allowing the creation of lighting effects. Hence, during the competition, spotlights can concentrate on what is going on in the water, and during the presentations of medals and the coming and going of swimmers, different settings in a very theatrical atmosphere can be devised.

The spectacularity of bestowing trophies will be strengthened by an important innovation: one of the sides of the Palau Sant Jordi will be occupied by a platform of 205 square metres and located two metres above the swimming pool. The ceremony of medal presentations will be held here so the swimmers will be given even more importance.

Since every facility will be decorated with a colour related to its sport, the Palau Sant Jordi will have blue, as a symbol of water and swimming.

Services

      - Dressing rooms of varying sizes.

      - Areas for catering.

      - VIP's box, with auxiliary rooms for receptions and differentiated means          of entry.

      - Quarters for the press that are properly equipped with an independent          circuit.

      - Infirmary.

      - Special accesses for the disabled.

      - Parking for 5,000 vehicles, near the facility.

How to get here      

By public transportation: Bus: Lines 50 and 61 Metro: Lines 1 and 3 to Plaça d'Espanya. You must then take the escalators located on Avinguda de Maria Cristina, which takes about 7 minutes. Taxi. The nearest taxi rank in Plaça d'Espanya. By private transportation: Access via Carrer de Tarragona, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes or Avinguda del Paral·lel. Parking in the area adjoining the venue.