Doubling Britannia users a ‘testament to investment in Hackney’s sporting Olympic legacy’

The new Britannia Leisure Centre is celebrating its first birthday after a year in which visitor numbers at the state-of-the-art facility more than doubled compared with the previous leisure centre on the same site.

Over 850,000 visits have been made to the leisure centre since it opened on 30 June 2021, twice the 424,000 who attended the old Britannia Leisure Centre in the same period in 2019-2020, prior to the pandemic.

Users in the first 12 months include 284,000 swimming sessions (up from 146,000), with regular members also doubling to nearly 5,000.

Built as part of the wider Britannia project, the incredible state-of-the-art leisure centre includes rooftop pitches with panoramic views, two first-class swimming pools, a leisure water area with flume, a gym, stunning fitness studios and a cafe and toilets that also serve Shoreditch Park.

The figures come 10 years after Hackney was a host borough for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with a Sport London Legacy Report showing that investment in leisure facilities has helped Hackney move up 10 places from 6th least to the 12th most active borough in the capital in the last decade.

As well as the Britannia Leisure Centre, this investment includes the £17 million upgrade of Hackney Marshes, and the new youth-led Eastway facility in Hackney Wick.

Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville, joined a recent celebration event (see images) to celebrate one year of the centre, and its One Hundred Years exhibition.