By John Kenny
The European Swimming Championships will now be held in Debrecen, Hungary, in May after being moved from the Belgian city of Antwerp because of budgetary problems.
The Antwerp organizer Georges Straetemans, who is also vice chairman of the technical committee of the European Swimming Federation, said in a statement that he could not bridge a financial shortfall of more than €400,000.
Antwerp had an ambitious plan to build a temporary swimming pool in its 12,000-capacity Sports Palace, counting on big interest, as the event would be held only two months ahead of the London Games.
However, when a major backer pulled out of the proposed meeting, LEN, the European governing body, looked for an alternative venue and Debrecen stepped in.
The new venue can hold 2,800 people if temporary stands are set up.
There will be a number of Irish swimmers involved in the Europeans including London bound Grainne and Barry Murphy along with others in the London 2012 squad bidding for Olympic qualification.
The championships - a major warm-up for the London Olympics - will be held on the same dates as originally planned from 21-27 May.
