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The first day of the Wimbledon Championships has been disrupted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside the All England Lawn Tennis Club in west London.
More than 100 people gathered outside Gates 3-5 at Wimbledon, in a protest that was organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
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Protesters chanted, “while you watch, bombs drop” and had signs targeting Barclays’ sponsorship of Wimbledon, based on the British multinational bank’s financial relationship with nine defense companies that supply arms to Israel.
There were also flags and protests outside Southfields London Underground station, the closest one to the AELTC. The demonstrators used strawberries — the fruit intrinsically linked to Wimbledon — to represent blood. One banner read: “Wimbledon strawberries tainted with Palestinian blood, courtesy of Barclays.”
The October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent war in Israel and Gaza have sparked several protests in London in the ensuing months. Those have been both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian, with thousands taking to the streets and occasionally crossing paths.
A statement from Barclays, which became Wimbledon’s official banking partner at the start of 2023, read: “We are proud of our partnership with Wimbledon which supports the growth of the championships and opportunities for young people across the UK through the Wimbledon Foundation.
“Like many other banks, we provide financial services to companies supplying defence products to the UK, NATO and its allies.”
Barclays has been the target of several protests since October 7, with two of its Manchester branches vandalised in May. Several branches across the UK were previously targeted in January.
A spokesperson for the All England Club said: “Barclays is an important partner of ours and we are working closely with them in a number of areas, including through our Set for Success programme, which is helping to support disadvantaged secondary students in schools across the UK.
“As a result of Barclays’ support this programme has expanded from 19 to 42 secondary schools across the UK, enabling more young people to gain confidence and build leadership skills to improve their future opportunities in life.”
(Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images)
