Elbe, Thames, Loire, And Po: Europeans To Swim For Clean Rivers During ''Big Jump''

It gets more and more difficult to take a dip in cool water at open air baths and lakes during hot summer days. This Sunday an interesting alternative will be offered in several locations: the Elbe river, where children learned to swim a hundred years ago, and where relatively clean water is once again flowing, will turn into a huge open air bath at precisely 2 p.m.

When Hamburg's football idol Uwe Seeler fires the starting shot, citizens will be allowed to jump off the wharf into the cool water, and shipping traffic will come to a halt especially for the event. The city dwellers will not be alone; people will be swimming in about 50 other locations along the river – from the Elbe's source in Spindleruy Mlyn in the Czech Republic, to Wittenberge, Dessau, Dresden and, finally, to Ottendorf at the river's mouth on the North Sea. But the Elbe won’t be the only river whose water’s will be tested on Sunday. For the first time, the Elbe Swimmingday, which was initiated and prepared eight years ago within the framework of the "Living Elbe" project by Gruner + Jahr and Deutsche Umwelthilfe, will be observed throughout Europe under the motto "Big Jump." More than 200 swimming parties in 30 rivers and twelve European countries are planned. People will jump into the cool waters of, for example, Great Britain's Thames, Italy's Po, France's Loire and Germany's Neckar to celebrate the first European River Swimmingday.

During a press conference last Tuesday Angelika Jahr, a member of Gruner + Jahr's management board and patron of the "Living Elbe" project, expressed pleasure about the fact that the Elbe, once the most polluted river in Europe, now serves as a model for this pan-European event. There is good reason to celebrate the clear success in improving the water quality of the Elbe, which separated East and West Germany for such a long time, with games, sports and a cultural program.

"Wherever you may be spending your summer vacation right now, you will find it hard to miss the 'Big Jump' on Sunday," explained Roberto Epple, Project Manager of "Living Elbe" and initiator of "Big Jump." The pan-European campaign creates a unique solidarity around the remarkable increase in water quality. "What was achieved with the Elbe should serve as an incentive for all of Europe," Epple said. He considers the swimming event a civic "motor" to drive forward the EU's Water Framework Directive (WFD). The directive calls for rivers throughout Europe to again have good water quality by the year 2015. "When we not only see salmon swimming up the river but also hear the laughter of children along the river banks will we truly be able to speak of living rivers," Roberto Epple emphasized. Still, this goal will require an enormous effort and the participation of the population in order to bring Europe's rivers back to a good ecological and chemical condition. The recovery of Europe’s rivers has to be promoted especially in France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. However, it is already safe to splash around in the waters of Germany's Rhine, Ruhr, Sieg and Ahr, and even the Isar in the center of Munich. Here, too, this progress with regard to water quality will be celebrated on Sunday with creative swimming events and campaigns.

The colorful program for the expected 100,000 visitors along the Elbe river differs from location to location. Otterndorf, for example, attracts people with an "antique" swimsuit fashion show; in Lenzen, children can build sand castles, a "Miss Elbe" will be crowned in Decin, and historic bath containers and old baths can be admired at an exhibition in Dresden. The Elbe will become the venue for many sports competitions in many locations along the river banks. There is no limit to the creativity when it comes to crossing the flowing water as quickly as possible – with rubber dinghies, dragon ships, canoes, or bathtubs. Numerous beach parties with Cuban rhythms, water drums, and belly dancers will assure that all participants will be able to relax after their swim and a long and—hopefully—hot day.

About 500 liters of purest spring water have already been handed over in carafes to the organizational teams of the local swimming fests; it will not only serve as "ammunition" for water pistols, but will also be used during the award ceremonies for the boat competitions and baptisms of newborn babies in church services along the river banks. "The feeling of home, which we increasingly associate with our riverscape, is expressed in an especially beautiful way there," said Harald Kächele, Chairman of Deutsche Umwelthilfe. The Elbe Swimmingday especially aims at familiarizing children with the river. Games and fun will not only teach them to deal with nature in a responsible way, but also to respect the dangerous areas of the flowing waters.

The idea of a river swimmingday has meanwhile even made it to the Middle East. Mayors in Israel, Palestine, and Jordan already dared to jump into the Jordan river last Sunday to establish a mood of a peaceful cooperation to save the river.