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The Wimbledon queue, which first snaked through SW19 in 1927, is taking a commercial turn this year. After buying their ticket, fans will be held in an “activation zone” with stalls run by the likes of Barclays and Vodafone.
An institution of such cultural significance that it spawned a recent book – 2018’s Standing In Line, by Ben Chatfield – the queue was thought to have gone extinct when the pandemic forced its closure in 2021. It made a half-hearted return the following year, as if queuers had lost the habit, before 2023 saw a return to form.
It always seemed likely, however, that this very analogue process would soon be remodelled for the digital age. And in 2024, that is likely to mean a more corporate flavour to the whole process.
“This year, we will be splitting the queue into three phases of operation,” said the All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton at a briefing on Thursday. “A welcome area which will house the main queue lines; a ticket-purchase phase where payments will be taken; and an activation phase where many of our official partners will have a presence.”
The “activation zone” will at least house a big screen, where queuers can see what is happening on Centre Court while they await their turn. While strawberries and cream will not be available until inside Wimbledon itself, there will be food trucks and “free partner giveaways” from the likes of Evian and Lavazza.
In response to further questions, Bolton replied “We’ve got a number of official partners who will have activations and for want of a better word that’s a set of activities. So, fun things to do.”
The queue remains something of an anomaly within the world of professional sport. It often starts forming on the Friday before Wimbledon begins, some 70-odd hours ahead of the opening of the match courts on the first Monday. The first brave souls erect tents on the fringes of what used to be Wimbledon Park Golf Course, but is now the projected – and contested – site of Wimbledon’s future qualifying event.
“Something happens in SW19 when you get in that queue,” writes Chatfield in his book. “It’s the sense of what might be, what might happen, of stories not yet written.”
Among the other subjects covered in Thursday’s Wimbledon briefing was the health of the All England Club’s patron, the Duchess of Cambridge, who normally presents the singles trophies on finals weekend.
Asked whether the Duchess is expected to attend, the AELTC’s new chair Debbie Jevans replied “Our priority is clearly that our patron has the time to recover, and we’re certainly not going to add any additional pressure on her recovery by speculating on our attendance at this year’s Championships.
“When it comes to the presentation ceremony, as in previous years, we will announce those that are going to be a part of that ceremony on the morning of the finals,” Jevans added. “So nothing’s changed in that regard.”
Also in the Wimbledon briefing, the AELTC announced that prizemoney will be £50m this year, up from £44.7m in 2023. That adds up to an increase of 12 per cent.
The two champions will each receive £2.7m while qualifying prizemoney has been boosted 15 per cent to £4.8m, and the fund for the wheelchair events has reached £1m for the first time.