The 220-year-old Middle Dock, which once loaded dozens of ships with exports, will have 600 square feet of open water for swimming against the backdrop of the skyscrapers of One Canada Square and Newfoundland.
It is open daily until the end of September and is supervised by lifeguards.
The initiative has been launched in partnership with the Canal & River Trust, Love Open Water swimming company and NOWCA, the UK’s largest network of safe open water locations.
Canary Wharf CEO Shobi Khan said: “Canary Wharf has over 20 acres of parks, gardens and plazas and a key goal is to open up the water to our residents, visitors and corporate customers.”
Rick Kiddle, founder and CEO of NOWCA said: “Our goal is to make open water more accessible, for more people and most importantly, safer. We support over 40 locations across the country with our safety systems and have been working with Love Open Water for a decade now.
“We are very excited to be part of this fantastic new location on Canary Wharf as it will open up more swimming opportunities in the East London area.”
Ros Daniels, Canal & River Trust Regional Director for London & South East said: “We are delighted to be working with Canary Wharf Group to license an area of London Docklands where people can safely go wild swimming under the supervision of lifeguards and where water quality will be routinely tested.”