Find Your Float

If you get into trouble in the water, knowing how to float can save your life. But everybody floats differently. Find your float for World Drowning Prevention Day on 25 July.

Find Your Float is the National Water Safety Forum’s campaign for World Drowning Prevention Day 2026. For the second year in a row, we’re encouraging as many people as possible to learn a lifesaving skill – the science-backed self-rescue technique of floating.

By practising how to float in a safe and supported environment, you can learn what floating looks and feels like for you, helping you to be better prepared for an emergency.

World Drowning Prevention Day is a global advocacy event recognised around the world on 25 July. Organised by the World Health Organization (WHO), it highlights the tragic impact of drowning on families and communities, as well as the life-saving solutions that prevent it.

Events and Activities

National Water Safety Forum members and partners across the UK will be organising events and activities to help you find your float from 20 to 25 July 2026. You can also find your float by visiting your nearest supervised swimming location, such as a swimming pool or lifeguarded beach.

Find your nearest lifeguarded beach

21 July – Hatfield Water Safety Day – Hatfield Outdoor Activity Centre, Doncaster
24 July – Find Your Float and Strategy Launch – Cardiff International White Water, Cardiff
25 July – Scotland’s Water Safety Open Day – Loch Lomond Shores, Balloch
25 July – Find Your Float – Sea Lanes Canary Wharf, London
25 July – Find Your Float – Ravlin Sports Centre, Portsmouth
25 July – Get Wet, Stay Safe – Multiple venues, Northern Ireland
25 July – World Drowning Prevention Day Event – South Lake Leisure Centre, Craigavon
25 July – £2 Swims – Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Leisure Centres
25 July – Water Safety Community Day – Burton Farm, Warwickshire
25 July – Hastings 999 Day – The Stade, Hastings
25 July – World Drowning Prevention Day Event – Hampton Court Palace, Surrey
25 July – £2 Swims – Active Wiltshire Swimming Pools
25 July – Find Your Float – Penarth Lifeboat Station, Penarth
25 July – Whitstable Lifeboat Station Open Day – Whitstable Lifeboat Station, Whitstable
25 July – Find Your Float – Wells Beach, Norfolk
25 July – Find Your Float – Caffi Largo Beach, Pwllheli
25 July – Water Safety Open Day – King’s Staith and Monks Cross, York
26 July – £2 Swims – Metheringham Swimming Pool, Lincolnshire
28 July – Water Safety Day – Moorways Sports Village and Water Park, Derby
1 August – Hatfield Water Safety Day – Hatfield Outdoor Activity Centre, Doncaster
3 and 4 August – Spring Lakes Water Safety Sessions – Spring Lakes Watersports and Leisure, Long Eaton
5 August – Water Safety Event – Salford Quays and Media City, Manchester

How to find your float

By practising how to float at your local swimming pool, lifeguarded beach or supervised open water swimming venue, you’re better prepared for what to do in an emergency.