Just Stop Oil protestors made their way onto the courts of Wimbledon in their latest attempt to disrupt a high-profile sporting event.
The incident occurred during the first-round match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro. The game, which had been delayed from Tuesday, was disrupted at the start of the second set when two protestors entered the court and spread orange confetti.
Wimbledon organisers have been fearing disruption from the group, after intelligence had suggested they were planning on taking action at some point during the fortnight. There had been fears that activists could look to glue themselves to the net, the umpire’s chair or the court itself.
At the very least, a repeat of the powder throwing seen at both the World Snooker Championship and last week’s second Ashes Test was anticipated. However, the protestor threw orange confetti from what appeared to be a puzzle box on the court.
The debris had started to be collected by ball boys and girls, before rain began and the covers were quickly hauled on. The protestors were escorted off court by security.
Prorestor Deborah Wilde, 68, a retired teacher from London, said: “I’m just an ordinary grandmother in resistance to this government’s policy of serving us new oil and gas licences. “In normal circumstances this sort of disruption would be entirely unacceptable, but these aren’t normal circumstances.
“We’ve just had the hottest June on record, breaking the previous record by nearly a whole degree. We don’t need Hawk-eye to see that our government issuing over 100 new fossil fuel licences is a very bad line-call.
“Forget strawberries and cream, scientists are warning of impending food shortages, mass displacement and war. We are facing new pandemics, economic inflation and increasingly authoritarian governments who will attempt to crush civil unrest.
“This is a crisis and it needs a crisis response. I want a safe future, not just for my grandchildren but for all children around the world and the generations to come.”
Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, a retired musician from Manchester, was the other protestor. He said: “I’m here for my grandchildren and everybody else’s.
“I’m not prepared to let our politicians wreck everything and leave the next generation to pick up the pieces. The last thing I want to do is spoil people’s enjoyment of Wimbledon, but right now, on Centre Court, it’s humanity vs oil and gas- and the umpire is getting every call wrong. How long are we going to take before we see a McEnroe-level meltdown!?”
Fan Callum Mackenzie, 28, said: “I saw this woman run on and she got stopped before she could do anything. Then the bloke came and threw some tinsel around and sat down on the floor.
His pal Louis Harvey, 30, said: “I just saw the bloke throw some sprinkles and just sit on the floor in a yoga pose. It’s disgraceful. We’ve paid a lot of money to get in here. One the weather’s not great, and for them to play to stop because of that is just disruptive. It’s just the way they go about it. It makes the queues longer. I understand why they’re doing it but disruption like this is just outrageous.”
Two-time Wimbledon champions Andy Murray predicted there was a good chance that a protest may take place at SW19, but warned it could be dangerous for those entering the courts.
"I think there is probably a good chance of something happening," Murray said at the start of the tournament. .
"I was talking about it with my family the other day. I don't know, if somebody ran onto the court and came towards you, what your reaction would be to that because you don't know who it is or what they are doing or why they are doing it.
"I didn't see what Jonny Bairstow did, but it could be dangerous. If they would attach themselves to the net or throw something onto the court - they have to be a bit careful going near to tennis players who obviously have got rackets in their hands."
Murray added: "I agree with the cause - just not always how they go about expressing it. Rather than running on the court, maybe they could do it a different way."
Shortly after the incident, Just Stop Oil released a statement on social media which started with the initial reaction of the BBC coverage: “BREAKING:Just Stop Oil Disrupt Wimbledon. “Once more, orange clouds hang over a British sporting event this summer—this time it’s ticker tape rather than paint dust, but it is an intrusion and will need sorting out.
“At 14:08, two Just Stop Oil supporters ran onto Court 18 at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, disrupting the match between Sho Shimabukuro and Grigor Dimitrov by throwing environmentally friendly orange confetti glitter and jigsaw pieces onto the courts before being removed.
“Play was briefly delayed whilst marshals picked up the pieces. Today’s action comes as th e@metoffice confirmed on Monday that this June has been the hottest on record, with the average monthly temperature of 15.8°C exceeding the previous record set in 1976 by 0.9°C.
The @Wimbledon Championships are currently under fire after signing a sponsorship deal with @Barclays, who have given £30billion to oil and gas companies, including @exxonmobil, @Shell and @TotalEnergies in the last two years.”
