In July 2003, about 120 swimmers will compete for the title of long-distance world champion, and they will do it in the waters of the port and sea front of Barcelona. This is an historic competition, both for swimming and for the city:

• This will be the first time that that the most important long-distance swimming competition that exists -the FINA World Championships- will be held in Europe in all its categories. The 1994 World Championships in Rome only included the 25-kilometre speciality, whilst Barcelona will also hold the 5 and 10-kilometre races.



• The swimmers will go out to sea through a new entrance that will be fully operational after the work that is still underway is completed.

The start and finish of the events will be located at the Portal de la Pau where an area of 1,500 square meters will be reserved exclusively for athletes, press, and accredited staff.

      - The 5km event
      - The 10km event
      - The 25km event
      - What it looks like
      - Services
      - How to get there

5 km / 10 km/ 25 km events

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What it looks like

The Old Port -the heart of the event- will concentrate the major part of the elements that make up the image of the World Championships. There will be up to three floating jetties (one will be a double jetty) on the water, between the Maremagnum bridge and the World Trade Center, where the start and finish line will be located as well as space for the judges and the graphic press.

The whole area, including the podiums for the medal presentation ceremonies, will be decorated with pennants and banners. Near the hotel Gran Marina -the FINA headquarters during its stay in Barcelona for the World Championships- decorations will be placed that are especially colourful, such as a great many flags and emblems.

Green will be the identifying colour, since it is connected to the sea and open waters.

Services

A special boat service will be provided by the organisation for spectators to watch the swimmers from front-row seats throughout the whole race.

A few days before the World Championships begin, the swimmers will be provided with a special service to be able to train in the sea. To do this, buoys will mark a one-kilometre area in front of the Club Nataciķ Barcelona.

How to get here      

By public transportation: Bus: Lines 14, 36, 38, 57, 59, 64, 120, 157 Metro: Line 3. Drassanes. Taxi. By private transportation: Access from Passeig de Colom. The start and finish areas will be closed to traffic.