Undercover specialist police officers are being positioned in key spots in Wimbledon crowds and chalk has been banned from the tennis championships for the first time, as organisers attempt to thwart environmental protesters.
Sally Bolton, the chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), said specialist behavioural detection officers (BDOs) would work with intelligence officers to identify and anticipate protesters from Just Stop Oil, who have disrupted a number of sporting events in recent months.
Speaking before play on Monday, Bolton said: “As we’ve seen at other sporting events we can’t guarantee anything but we’re extremely confident that the measures we’ve got in place are the right measures and we are ready to deal with something if it happens,” she said.
She added: “We would really appeal to those attending the championships to respect the fact that others who are coming […] want to view the tennis enjoyably, quietly and in a safe environment.”
The British player Andy Murray, who plays his first match against Ryan Peniston, a British wildcard, on Tuesday, has said he expects the tournament to be disrupted, saying he believes in Just Stop Oil’s cause, if not always how it promotes it.
Last week, organisers urged players not to “try a Jonny Bairstow” if Just Stop Oil protesters attempted to spray orange paint over Centre Court, referring to the actions of the England cricketer who tackled a protester and carried him away at Lords last month.
There were long queues even for ticket holders in SW19 on Monday, as thorough bag checks were carried out on everything being taken into the grounds of the UK’s home of tennis.
Becky Deeming, an events manager from London, said she had arrived at 3.35am but got into the grounds at about 1.30pm – missing the first game on court one that she had bought a ticket for.
“Even people who were camping since yesterday still weren’t in before play started,” she said. “We were told that it was because there was extra security because they were worried about protesters.”
Among the prohibited items are cable ties, glue, chains and padlocks. For the first time “chalk, dust or powder substances” have also been specifically forbidden, seemingly a response to Just Stop Oil protesters who have regularly deployed an explosion of coloured chalk to disrupt events.
One spectator had tennis balls confiscated, while others handed over deodorants into large containers marked “prohibited items”.
Wimbledon is one of the very few major sporting events where visitors can queue to buy premium tickets on the day of play. Described as one of Wimbledon’s “great traditions”, organisers say that for many tennis fans it is “as much a part of the Wimbledon experience as the tennis itself”.
But many tennis fans were disgruntled this year. Deeming said the last time she had queued, she had arrived by 4.30am and had entered the grounds by 10am.
“Other people who had done the queue for multiple years said that it’s never been anything like this before,” she said. “There was no communication from anywhere, just basically teenage stewards that didn’t know anything. And there was no water.”
She added that tensions had been high in the queue, with many people frustrated by the lack of progress and communication. “Morale in the queue was really disappointed, because there was no communication for ages,” she said. “I mean, if you’re promoting the queue, at least facilitate the queue.”
Farhan Abrol said he had been in the queue for seven hours, since 5.55am, and was still two hours away from getting in. “This is the worst tournament I’ve been to yet,” he said. “They didn’t have enough security, it seems, and most shockingly there was no info to the back of the queue.”
On Monday, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Lucy Frazer, said she could not guarantee that Just Stop Oil would not disrupt Wimbledon, but said she and the home secretary, Suella Braverman, and others were having a roundtable discussion on how to take action to stop the group disrupting events across the country.
“Of course I can’t guarantee that nothing is going to happen, but what I am confident about is the police understand the importance of these events going ahead and we have given them the powers to act,” said Frazer.
Wimbledon has been criticised for undermining its own sustainability pledges by entering into a sponsorship agreement, reportedly worth at least £20m a year, with Barclays. Celebrities including Richard Curtis, Emma Thompson and Deborah Meaden called on the tournament to end the partnership over the bank’s multibillion-pound support for fossil fuel projects.
Bolton defended the deal, saying the bank was “a fantastic new partner” and was making a donation to the Wimbledon foundation, the championships’ charitable arm.
“I’ve talked about our commitment to being environmentally positive. That’s a serious commitment. And we really believe that we have along with other sporting bodies a significant role to play in that, and we don’t shy away from [it],” she said.
In recent years, Wimbledon has set ambitious targets to mitigate the climate crisis. In April, it announced it was piloting a refillable water system on court for the first time, and it has vowed to have net zero emissions by 2030.
The Metropolitan police said they were working with the AELTC “to provide an effective, timely response to any emerging incidents at the location, and right across London”.
