Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh to reopen in March

The refurbished Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh is to reopen on Wednesday 21 March

Edinburgh's Royal Commonwealth Pool is to reopen on 21 March, following a two-year £37m refurbishment.

Its 50m pool has been upgraded and there is a new 25m diving pool with a moveable floor, as well as a teaching pool and large gym.

The pool, which was opened in January 1970 by Princess Anne and hosted two Commonwealth Games, closed for the work in June 2009.

New changing rooms, a reception and cafe have also been installed.

'Painstaking refurbishment'

Former Olympic swimming champion, David Wilkie, is due to officially open the pool at a special ceremony, in front of an invited audience, the day before which will feature aquatics displays by several well-known athletes.

Deidre Brock, Edinburgh City Council culture and leisure convener, said: "I'm absolutely delighted to be able to announce the reopening of our much loved Royal Commonwealth Pool following its painstaking refurbishment.

"This has been an incredibly complex engineering project which has transformed the Grade A-listed pool into a truly world class aquatics facility."

The pool will host the diving events as part of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the British swimming squad have selected it as the venue for their final training camp in July 2012 ahead of the London Olympics.