Azure Swimming Pool

Swimming pool in Pripyat, Ukraine

51°24′24″N 30°02′57″E / 51.4068°N 30.0492°E / 51.4068; 30.0492Opened1970sClosed1998PoolWidth22 mLanes5

The Azure Swimming Pool (Ukrainian: Басейн Лазурний) is one of the indoor swimming pools in the abandoned city of Pripyat,^[1]^[2] Ukraine, which was affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

History

The complex was built in the 1970s and remained in use until 1998 (12 years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster); during those 12 years the swimming pool was mainly used by Chernobyl liquidators.^[3] The swimming pool was considered to be one of the cleanest places in Pripyat.^[4] However, the swimming pool and the adjacent indoor basketball court have been abandoned and left to decay since its closure in 1998.

In popular culture

The swimming pool appears in the following:

Ukrainian writer Markiyan Kamysh's novel A Stroll to the Zone, which is centred around illegal trips to Pripyat^[5]^{[full citation needed]}
The video game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in the mission "One Shot, One Kill" and also in the multiplayer map "Bloc"
Music video of the song "Marooned" by English rock band Pink Floyd^[6]
Music video of the song "Sweet People" by Ukrainian singer Alyosha^[7]
The short film Postcards from Pripyat, filmed by CBS cameraman Danny Cooke^[8]
Chinese technology company DJI's story, Lost City of Chernobyl^[9]
The video game PUBG: Battlegrounds
Music video of the song "Life Is Golden", by English rock band Suede (along with other locations in Pripyat)
The video game Warface
The video game Call of Duty: Warzone
The video game Metro Exodus's "Sam's Story" DLC
The HBO miniseries Chernobyl
At a location called 'The Storage' in the video game Second Life

Gallery

The exterior of the swimming pool in 2009
Another view of the exterior of the pool in 2009. The outdoor clock is visible in the upper right corner of the picture.

References

^ "Swimming Pool Azure". The Chernobyl Gallery. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
^ "site". The Chernobyl Gallery. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
^ "Припятское: плавательный бассейн в мертвом городе". livejournal.com. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
^ "Припять: бассейн "Лазурный"". livejournal.com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
^ "Чорнобильська зона відчуження: Загроза смерті чи відродження? (На матеріалі подорожнього нарису Маркіяна Камиша 'Оформляндія або прогулянка в зону')" [Chernobyl Exclusion Zone: Threat of death or revival? (Based on Markiyan Kamysh's travel sketch 'Decoration, or A Stroll to the Zone')]. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
^ Pink Floyd release new Marooned video...and TDB20 countdown!
^ Video Alyosha - Sweet People (Ukraine). 18 May 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2016 – via YouTube.
^ Drone in Pripyat (Chernobyl) Postcards from Pripyat
^ DJI Stories - The Lost City of Chernobyl