The City of Fort Lauderdale welcomed Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene to celebrate the completion of the City’s Aquatic Centre following a multimillion-dollar revitalisation project. The centre boasts one of the tallest dive towers in the world and state-of-the-art competition pools for both competitive and public use.

The plans for the visit began with Mayor Dean Trantalis’ recent visit to Monaco where he met with dignitaries about the Aquatic Center project, the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, and other important priorities and investments.

“The renovation of the aquatic complex restores Fort Lauderdale as a premier destination for global competitive swimming and diving at a venue that is also available to the public. The visit by their Serene Highnesses of Monaco shows the global value we have achieved and the excitement that we are generating,” said Mayor Dean Trantalis, who is working to add Monaco to Fort Lauderdale’s growing list of Sister Cities around the world.

Their Serene Highnesses have a keen interest in Fort Lauderdale’s Aquatic Centre and the adjoining International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF). H.S.H. Prince Albert II is a 2011 gold medallion ISHOF honoree, and his uncle Jack Kelly Jr. served as the ISHOF president in the 1980s.

“We hope these ties will continue even beyond the celebration here today. We have wonderful plans of maybe getting one our major events both in Monaco and here in Fort Lauderdale, the Boat Show and the Monaco Yacht show, to collaborate in a much more fruitful way. We really look forward to all these opportunities,” said HSH Prince Albert.

HSH Princess Charlene is a former Olympic swimmer and philanthropist who founded the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation in 2012 which includes, among its missions, saving children’s lives by teaching them how to swim and educating them on water safety.

Photo by Jason Koerner/Getty Images for City of Fort Lauderdale)