Lido (swimming pool)

In British English, a lido is a public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities, or part of a beach where people can swim, lie in the sun, or participate in water sports. On a cruise ship or ocean liner, the lido deck features outdoor pools and related facilities.

The term probably made its way into English via "Lansbury's Lido", a nickname used in the British press for London's Serpentine bathing place. The bathing place was revamped in 1930 as a project of the Labour First Commissioner for Works, George Lansbury, a plaque to whom appears on the Serpentine pavilion to this day. The re-opening garnered significant press attention as a result of Lansbury's introduction of "mixed" bathing. Lido, an Italian word for "beach", forms part of the place names of several Italian seaside towns known for their beaches, such as Lido di Venezia, the barrier beach enclosing the Venetian Lagoon. Like the Lido di Venezia, the Serpentine "Lido" includes an extended area of shoreline. The nickname "Lansbury's Lido" was probably also ironic, given the contrast between the glamour of Venice and the relative squalor of interwar London — not to mention the latter's variable weather.