By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, March 18, 2021
Wimbledon will welcome limited crowds, but cast the queue aside this summer. Officials announce changes for the 134th Championships.
Photo credit: CameraSport
Wimbledon will welcome limited crowds, but cast the queue aside this summer.
The grass-court Grand Slam, set for June 28th-July 11th, announced it will permit some fans though it has not yet set a daily attendance limit.
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The 134th Championships are scheduled to start one week after Coronavirus safety protocol restrictions are set to expire in England.
Tournament officials said the "most likely outcome" will be reduced crowd size. The Championships drew 500,397 fans during the 2019 Wimbledon. The 2020 Championships were cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic marking the first time in 75 years Wimbledon was not staged.
"At this point in time, the most likely outcome for this year’s Championships, as an outdoor venue, is a reduced number of spectators within the grounds," the tournament announced in an update on the Wimbledon website. "However, we are taking every step to remain as flexible as possible to ensure we are able to react to changing circumstances that may allow an increase or require a decrease in attendance, both ahead of and during the Wimbledon Fortnight."
Wimbledon has not yet announced how many tickets will be available for public sale as it coordinates an attendance plan with government and health officials.
"For this reason, we want to ensure that we can leave decisions on public capacity as late as we can in order to welcome the maximum number of guests, and manage our ticket distribution accordingly," the tournament announced, adding "for the same reasons the LTA will not be holding their ballot for tickets to The Championships this year, but will be providing an online platform for ticket sales in June."
Sightlines will shift for both players and fans. The tournament announced its closing the popular Wimbledon queue this summer and players will be required to stay in hotels rather than rent private homes in Wimbledon village.
"Given the likelihood of continued social distancing requirements and with consideration for the health and safety of all the public, there will not be a Queue or Ticket Resale in operation for this year’s Championships. Both the Queue and Ticket Resale remain much-loved and important Wimbledon traditions, and we look forward to their return in 2022," Wimbledon announced.
All players, coaches and officials will be required to stay at tournament hotels.
"In line with UK Government and public health guidance, we are also putting in place a series of infection control measures," Wimbledon announced. "One of the priority measures is to create a minimized risk environment for the players. As such, based on current guidance, there will be official hotels for all players, their support teams, and key groups such as officials, which will be a mandatory requirement for entry into and participation in this year's Championships."