European Aquatics, formerly LEN, has unveiled a new brand, which it says is the “first major milestone of the European Aquatics’ Strategic Plan 2024-2030).
Formerly the Ligue Européenne de Natation, European Aquatics announced a name change last year as it continues to further align itself with World Aquatics (formerly FINA), which underwent a similar rebrand in recent years. Like many international sporting organizations, both LEN and FINA were French-language names, established in a time where French was the lingua franca for much of the world. As English has supplanted that, though, more-and-more organizations have begun moving to English monikers. While some of the similar-sounding acronyms (FIFA, FIBA) have survived so far, many others (World Athletics, World Archery, World Rugby, World Sailing, World Triathlon) have become more direct and still similar, if less-acronym-friendly.
Until this point, European Aquatics has continued using the LEN logo widely, which from a branding perspective creates some identity confusion. The organization’s official website continues to be len.eu and email addresses continue to end @len.eu, though European Aquatics says that “the replacement of len.eu with a new digital domain is ongoing.”
The new logo, though, also seems to be bringing some confusion. The tilde-like wave is being used to represent a letter-and-a-half in the organization’s name. The three-wave “E” to start the logo appears to be what will be the basic logo of the organization when the wordmark isn’t present; the wave is also being used to represent the tail of the ‘q” in “aQuatics.”
British swim writer Steve Buckley observed on Twitter that the Q looks more like a small O, especially on a background of the waved logos.
Is it just me who struggles to read that as a “Q”? https://t.co/mcLa23D7mM
— pullbuoy (@pullbuoy) March 22, 2024
European Aquatics unveiled the new logo on World Water Day in an attempt to link the organization with the United Nations’ social mission. World Water Day is an awareness project for global clean water, and European Aquatics says that the announcement “symbolises (their) commitment to the United Nation’s charter for clean water.”
“Our alignment with this strategy strengthens the role of Aquatic sports as a catalyst for positive change.”
European Aquatics’ Explanation of the New Brand:
The unique ambiance of blue water is central to the design, strategically intertwined with an emblematic wave pattern grid system. At the same time, the brand colours symbolize our sport’s aquatic nature with style.
The incorporation of deep blue water aligns seamlessly with the brand’s tagline, “This is your element.”
While water remains a universal element, the brand reveal aims to convey the overarching message that European Aquatics is your element, symbolizing a connection to the fundamental essence of water for everyone connected to the sport.
The European Aquatics rebrand came from a desire to merge two pillars – performance (competition) and way of life (social responsibility) – with water at the core.
The outcome creates a feeling of flowing evolution, to inspire the success of European Aquatics’ future journey:
- To empower professionalism.
- To boost reputation and increase brand equity.
- To lay strong foundations for a globally loved brand.
European Aquatics President Antonio Silva said:
“Our new logo is more than just a symbol or a mark. It is the visual representation of our mission, our brand, and our desired impact in Europe and beyond.
The new brand epitomises our vision and mission to show how European Aquatics and our member federations are committed to high performance and healthy lifestyles, putting Aquatics Social Responsibility and sustainability at the heart of all our activities.
We decided to launch the new brand on World Water Day, to symbolise our commitment to the United Nation’s charter for clean water which is a crucial part of the UN’s Developing Goals strategy (2015-20130). Our alignment with this strategy strengthens the role of Aquatic sports as a catalyst for positive change. This new brand marks the climax of more than two years of intensive organisational transformation, guided by the Bureau of European Aquatics. During this process, we have made very significant improvements to governance, including strengthening the athletes’ voice and creating an independent Aquatics Integrity Unit.
We are now ready to move into the activation phase of our Strategic Plan for 2024-2030 and the new brand and identity is the first step. Our new brand and visual identity will also enable us to connect with new audiences and unite new generations of athletes in every one of our disciplines.”
Executive Director Patrice Coste said:
“The brand reveal asset is primarily about spotlighting the new logo and the distinctive identity of the brand which is:
Passionate
Reliable
Friendly
Fun
Competitive
Healthy
Maintaining the integrity of our logo is key to introducing our new brand across Europe and building interest and engagement with European Aquatics in our diverse audiences. While European Aquatics’ portfolio of digital assets, including all social platforms, has been refreshed with the new look, the replacement of len.eu with a new digital domain is ongoing. During this short transition period, len.eu will continue to be used for the website and email addresses.”
The new European Aquatics brand will be rolled out for the upcoming events of 2024 for all disciplines except Water Polo, where only the Men’s Champions League Final 4 competition will include the new branding, while other European Water Polo Club competitions will continue with the current branding until the end of the 2023-2024 season. The European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade from June 10 – 23 will be the first European Aquatics Championships to fully integrate the new brand identity.