International Swimming League returns with 2026 All-Star Match in London

Some of the world’s best swimmers will race at the London Aquatics Centre on Saturday 19 December 2026, competing for the largest prize pool ever offered for a single night of competitive swimming.

LONDON, UK – Wednesday 26 August 2026: The International Swimming League (ISL) has today announced its long-awaited return with the hosting of the ISL All-Star Match, a one-night team competition featuring some of the world’s best swimmers, to be held at the London Aquatics Centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Saturday 19 December 2026.

The All-Star Match marks the start of the ISL’s next chapter as it plans for its full return. Built on a revolutionary dynamic new format of fast-paced, team-based racing that made the League’s first three seasons a phenomenon in competitive swimming, the match will bring the sport’s biggest names back to the pool for a single unmissable evening, staged in front of a live London crowd and a global broadcast audience.

The total prize pool for the All-Star Match will be the largest ever offered for a single night of competitive swimming.

London was chosen as the host city for its world-class venue and its standing as one of the great international swimming cities. The London Aquatics Centre, built for the London 2012 Games, has hosted major international competition ever since, and sits at the heart of a city with a passionate and dedicated swimming community.

Ben Allen, Commissioner of the International Swimming League, said: “The All-Star Match is the moment swimming has been waiting for: the world’s best athletes, back on the ISL stage. London is the perfect host city, with a venue built for nights like this and in front of one of the world’s great sporting audiences. We cannot wait to give fans a night to remember.”

Chris Wells, contract manager for Everyone Active, which manages the London Aquatics Centre, said: “We are delighted to welcome the International Swimming League back to London and to London Aquatics Centre for what promises to be a spectacular night of racing. The venue has a proud legacy of hosting major swimming events and some of the world’s best swimmers, while remaining a facility enjoyed by the local community every day. Seeing the ISL bring its unique format to our competition pool will be a fantastic experience for athletes, spectators and fans around the world. We look forward to working with the ISL to make the 2026 All-Star Match a memorable night for swimming.”

The star names competing and the match format will be announced in due course, along with ticketing information and details of recommended accommodation for travelling fans and the swimming community. Information regarding how to watch the event on broadcast platforms will be confirmed in the near future.

Notes to Editors

About the International Swimming League (ISL)

Forget everything you thought you knew about swimming.

The ISL tore up the rulebook. It built something the sport had never seen before: fast, ferociously competitive, team-based racing designed for fans, built for broadcast, and made to deliver unforgettable moments. The ISL gave the biggest names in swimming what elite athletes in other premier sports already had - a stage of their own. Real prize money. Team pride. High stakes on every single length, where the clock is not the only thing that matters.

Across three unforgettable seasons between 2019 and 2021, the ISL lit up three continents with competing franchise clubs from North America, Europe and Asia, and a roster stacked with the greatest swimmers on the planet. Two-hour matches crackling with intensity. Point scoring that turned every race into a team battle. Coaches plotting line-ups, saving their strongest swimmers, and timing every selection to maximise points. Fierce rivalries igniting the moment the water broke, swimmer against swimmer, team against team, with everything on the line. The ISL didn't just prove swimming could be entertaining. It proved it could be electric.

And now, the ISL is back. The League returns sharper, smarter and built to last. This is the next chapter of a movement that changed what swimming could be and it's about to do it again, bigger and bolder than ever.

About The All-Star Match

On Saturday 19 December 2026, the ISL is hosting its All-Star Match in London: a one-night showcase of the world's fastest swimmers in a unique two-hour head-to-head competition. This is not a heats-and-finals meet: every race counts, every touch moves the scoreboard, and one team leaves London crowned champions.

The match marks the return of the ISL, bringing back the dynamic, unpredictable version of swimming in a world-class venue with a live crowd and global audience watching the best compete head-to-head. Expect high-octane racing from first event to last, team tactics, momentum swings, and a venue energised by a DJ, with unique visual and audio production galvanising the atmosphere between races. Whether you have followed the ISL from the start or this is your first taste of swimming reimagined, London in December is where the sport comes back to life.

About the London Aquatics Centre

The London Aquatics Centre is a world-class, 2,800 capacity aquatics venue in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and is today one of the busiest public swimming venues in the world.