The popular Brussels outdoor swimming pool FLOW has been vandalised several times in the last few weeks, in acts which have left the pool's management team "sad and speechless" and indefinitely postponed the construction of a poolside sauna.
Inaugurated during the summer of 2021 near the Pierre Marchant bridge over the Anderlecht canal, the 17-by-7-metre pool is the only outdoor swimming pool in the Brussels Region. It is currently closed for the winter after welcoming close to 20,000 visitors last summer.
"Over the last couple of weeks we discovered that several forced break-ins have taken place," said a statement posted online by Pool is Cool, the group which developed and manages the pool. In particular, the group noted that "damages" had been caused to the pool's fence, gate, doors and kitchen, and that "essential tools and machinery have been stolen or deliberately damaged".
"The thefts and disrespect of the place and our work leaves us sad and speechless," the statement added.
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Pool is Cool has stated that a planned sauna will likely not be built before next summer as they cannot guarantee that it, too, won't be damaged in another act of vandalism: "At this moment, it would not be responsible to invest money and time in a sauna whose security we cannot guarantee."
Although the group admitted that recent events had left them deeply saddened, they nevertheless tried to remain positive: "It's in our DNA to spread positive energy about outdoor swimming... We even see every setback as a challenge to overcome and to learn something for the future."
