SAFETY FIRST AS WIMBLEDON REVIEWS
MIDDLE SATURDAY QUEUEING ARRANGEMENTS

Spectators for Middle Saturday encouraged not to arrive at Wimbledon overnight

The All England Club today announced that owing to safety concerns, particularly over the size of the overnight queue for the Middle Saturday, it is introducing measures aimed at reducing the number of people coming to The Championships on the Friday night.

The move comes after the Club reviewed its queueing operation with the Police and Local Authorities.

Since its introduction in 1992, the popularity of the Middle Saturday has grown to the extent that in 2002 an estimated 9000 people – an increase of 6000 on other days - camped out overnight in Wimbledon Park and the surrounding areas.

The enormous practical problems of maintaining control and ensuring the health and safety of such numbers (overcrowding in the Park resulted in a serious incident last year) have reached a critical stage.

• To address the situation, organisers of The Championships have reluctantly decided to introduce the following measures for the Middle Saturday:
  
• For this year’s Championships the arrangements will mirror those in place on the first nine days of the event.
  
• The number of Centre Court tickets on sale on the day will be 500 (as opposed to 2000) in line with No.1 and No.2 Courts.
  
• There will be no discounts for on-day sales.
  
• Since fewer Centre Court tickets are available for sale on the day, spectators are encouraged not to arrive at the Club until Saturday morning when around 6000 ground tickets will also go on sale.

Wimbledon is the only major sporting event in the UK at which premium tickets are specifically reserved for sale on the day at the turnstiles. The 1500 Centre Court tickets previously allocated for sale on the day will be redistributed on a 50/50 basis to the benefit of the public ballot, which is open to everyone, and British tennis via the The Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) 112 performance clubs.

Chris Gorringe, Chief Executive of the All England Club, said: “The Wimbledon queue has become a legendary part of the event itself and it is a tradition we dearly wish to retain. At the same time we have a serious responsibility for the safety of all those coming to The Championships.

“The huge popularity of Middle Saturday has resulted in overnight queues of nearly unmanageable proportions prompting increasing concern that safety could be compromised if the numbers queuing overnight kept rising. We are therefore introducing measures to try to reduce the numbers and our message to spectators is clear.

“As there will be fewer Centre Court tickets on sale at the gates on the Middle Saturday, you are encouraged not to travel to the Club on Friday night, but to come on Saturday morning instead when there should also be plenty of ground tickets still available at the turnstiles.”

John Crowther, LTA Chief Executive, added: "We welcome the new arrangements. They address the overall safety concerns of the Middle Saturday queue, while the allocation of Centre Court tickets to our LTA accredited performance clubs will give many more British juniors the opportunity to be inspired by experiencing the unique Wimbledon experience.”