LIDOS LIDO LIFE
In his regular column, Jonathan Knot looks at our enduring love for the lido Photo © Crazyank
Former Parisian lido, the Piscine Molitor is now as famous for its grafi t i as for its swimming history
It was 65 years ago last month, on 5 July 1946, that an erotic dancer called Micheline Bernardini modelled the world’s
fi rst bikini. The location chosen for this daring moment in modern fashion was Paris’ famous outdoor pool, the Piscine Molitor, which was known for its dramatic art deco architecture – a style that has been copied in outdoor pools around the world. The appeal of swimming outdoors has never been limited to British shores, and open-air baths continue to be hugely popular around Europe and beyond. The Piscine Molitor was closed in 1989, but supporters have fought fi ercely to save it, and reportedly there are plans to reopen it in 2012. The French also opened a fl oating pool with a retractable roof on the river Seine in 2006. Meanwhile, a journalist in 2009 found that the ratio of outdoor pools to people was much bet er in German cities than in British ones. Lidos have been popular even in countries that would seem to have neither the culture or the climate for them. It was diffi cult
MOSKVA POOL (MOSCOW
OUTDOOR POOL) In 1931 the Soviet government demolished the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow and began to build the ‘Palace of the Soviets’, an administrative centre, in its place. But in 1941, the steel being used for the building was diverted to the war effort, and in 1958 the foundations of the building were converted into a swimming pool (pictured). The circular pool had a diameter of 129.5m, and it was said to be the world’s largest. But in 1992, when the cathedral was rebuilt, it was closed.
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