30 July 2012 Last updated at 03:47 ET

De Montfort University's jubilee leisure centre opens

The Queen visited De Montfort University during her visit to Leicester

A new £8m leisure centre at Leicester's De Montfort University named after the Queen's Diamond Jubilee is due to open to the public later.

The university was granted permission by the Cabinet Office to name its new sports facility The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Leisure Centre.

It features a swimming pool, gym and sports courts.

The Queen visited the university when she was in Leicester at the start of her jubilee tour of the UK.

Dominic Shellard, vice-chancellor of De Montfort University, said: "It was a tremendous honour to have Her Majesty The Queen visit the university on the first stop of the official tour and it is fitting that we commemorate this occasion and mark the Queen's 60 year reign."

The opening of the new centre on Monday will see a group of local children swimming the equivalent length of the English Channel to raise money for charity.

The centre was built on the site of the former Pump and Tap pub and the Bowstring Bridge, the demolition of which prompted protests by heritage campaigners.