Wimbledon bosses on Friday hailed the return of the “buzz” to SW19 as final preparations were under way for the first full-capacity championships since the pandemic.
Covid saw the tennis championships cancelled in 2020 and last year the All England Club took the decision to limit crowd numbers.
But this year spectators will attend in full force for the first time since 2019 as the championships get back to normal on Monday — including the return of the famous queue. Last year queueing for entry on the day was scrapped, with all tickets sold online.
In previous years, up to 10,000 people have queued for ground tickets for a day’s play — including the fans who camp overnight for a limited number of “golden” show court tickets.
Similar numbers are expected this year and Wimbledon hailed it as a “bucket list” event for fans.
Operations director Michelle Dite said: “We’re expecting a really big buzz and people turning up wanting to be part of it. People really want to go and have a queue experience. They spend hours meeting different people from all over the world. It’s a great vibe and I think for many it’s one of the things they really enjoy doing.
“It’s really exciting to be welcoming a full-capacity, 42,000 crowd,” she added. “We are definitely ready. We’re looking forward to people coming back through our gates.”
Wimbledon is one of the few major UK sporting events which allow spectators to buy tickets on the day. This year, there will be some changes to the queue set-up “to make it a lot more open and accessible”.
This includes a new route and facilities for people to plan their entire day with the MyWimbledon app.
“The layout now means there’s things for people to do,” said Ms Dite. “There’s food and drink available from 4am. We’ve really tried to put the guests first. People can access the MyWimbledon app to plan their day. Whilst you’re in the queue you can learn about Wimbledon, understand what your experience is going to be.”
Preparations were racheting up this morning with ball boys and girls arriving for final training sessions. Staff spoke of their excitement at being part of the tournament. Security guard Amarita Foolchand said: “This is a dream come true for me. I love tennis and this is the perfect job.”
Excitement is already building in the Wimbledon area too with spare rooms — and even driveways — rented out weeks in advance to global tennis fans ready to cheer on the likes of Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray, and local restaurants and cafes hiring extra staff.
