A SWIMMING festival is returning to the borough this July.
The Henley Swimming Festival will be held on the banks of the River Thames in Remenham and in the water, on the weekend of Saturday, July 9.
There will be plenty of swimming, as well as film viewings, musical performances and talks at Temple Island Meadows.
Swimmers will be able to camp on Saturday night, and enjoy a day activities by the river on the Sunday.
This includes paddle boarding, a synchronised swimming display, music from a rock choir, yoga, Zumba, children’s activities and food and drink.
Ahead of the festival, the organisers have submitted a licensing application to the Public Protection Partnership, which is in charge of licensing for Wokingham Borough Council.
The application is to conduct indoor sporting events, amplified speech for commentary, have live music and recorded music and sell alcohol has been made.
The festival site will be open from 7am on Saturday to 5pm on Sunday.
Juliet Hume, the director of operations for the festival, said that the event is well established in Henley’s event diary.
“We are very much looking forward to returning to Temple Island Meadows in 2022 to showcase this stunning stretch of the Thames to open water swimmers and their families,” she said.
“The Festival is fast becoming the must-attend event for anyone involved in open water swimming, and it is exciting to watch it grow as more and more people get hooked on this amazing sport.”
Prior to the main festival, organisers are also hosting the ‘Selkie Henley Classic’ event — a dawn swim.
Held on Sunday, June 26, swimmers will arrive on site from 2am and swim from around 4.30am as the sun is rising.
Participants will then swim the regatta course and return to the event area for coffee and breakfast sandwiches.
The tradition was first established in 2004, with the wider swimming festival established in 2011.
“The Classic remains a quirky, event, the only opportunity to safely swim past all the landmarks of the full Regatta course,” Ms Hume added.
“To do this as the sun is rising makes this an unforgettable experience.”
As part of the licensing application, the organisers have applied for a late night refreshment licence on this day, to keep swimmers fed and hydrated.
For more information, visit: henleyswim.com/events
