The 2025 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships broke all audience engagement records attracting over 7 million social media views and breaking through the half a million mark in terms of broadcast audience for the second consecutive year.
The competition, staged at the London Aquatics Centre between 15-20 April, saw 6 days of competitive racing across a fully integrated swimming and para-swimming schedule with the best of British aiming for selection for the team for this summer’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
A sell-out crowd witnessed the unforgettable Men’s 200m Freestyle finale on Sunday night of the championships, bringing the curtain down on a week that featured a 15 world, European and British records in the pool, and incredible atmospheres across all six days of action with more than 12,500 fans attending across the week – an increase on 2024’s ticketed presence and ranking the event’s attendance as the highest ever in a non-Olympic and Paralympic year.
At home, thanks to a continued broadcast partnership with the BBC, viewers were able to watch finals across BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer, combined with wall-to-wall coverage available on the Aquatics GB YouTube channel. For a second consecutive year more than half a million broadcast views were recorded, with the audience watching on to see those athletes who will be aiming to star on the world stage in Singapore this summer.
Among the highlights in the pool was that Men's 200m Freestyle final, which saw James Guy and Ducan Scott tie for gold in dramatic style, while Faye Rogers notched multiple S10 world, European and British records to etch her name an incredible eight-times onto the new installed London Aquatics Centre honours board.
Angharad Evans reset the Women’s 100m Breaststroke British record, Oliver Morgan smashed his Men’s 100m Backstroke British mark amid a continued clean-sweep of the Men’s Backstroke titles, while Rebecca Redfern (SB13), Iona Winnifrith (SB7) and Brock Whiston (SB8) all met para-swimming world consideration standards in an electric multi-classification Women's 100m Breaststroke contest, setting the tone throughout a breathless week.
Iconic moments such as these - along with content taking viewers behind the scenes of the championships - amassed over seven million views across Aquatics GB social media accounts bringing fans closer to the action than ever before.
Viewers in the stands and at home will also have seen an increase in athletes taking to the blocks throughout the championships, with 1180 swimmers (an increase of 29% on 12 months ago) competing and delivering in excess of 2000 swims recorded faster than entry times -evidencing the elite sporting environment created to support athletes in achieving new personal bests.
Away from any aspect of performance, more than 1000 people from the community around the London Aquatics Centre, the majority of them children and young adults, were engaged in inclusive opportunities as part of the event's social impact programme, developing skills and promoting the benefits of a love of water.
These included a water safety and confidence session for primary school children, a female empowerment session aimed at female club swimmers, and a disability discovery session - with athletes including Adam Peaty, Anna Hopkin and Alice Dearing attending the sessions to offer insight and support.
Reflecting on engagement in the venue, on poolside and on sofas across the country, Aquatics GB CEO Drew Barrand said: "We are very proud to reflect on the success of these Aquatics GB Swimming Championships, both in terms of the world-class performances on show in the water and the engagement that we saw with those watching on, supporting from the stands or even joining in across a series of community sessions, many from local communities and who will have been experiencing aquatics for the first time.
"We know that there is a huge audience in this country for swimming and our other aquatic sports, and to see the record-breaking engagement across our multi-platform distribution approach across Aquatics GB platforms, YouTube and the BBC. I would like to thank everyone involved for the support and dedication shown to continually enhance these championships year-on-year and in delivering such a high-quality event production to a mass audience. I believe we’re nowhere near done yet and am hugely exited for the future of the championships."