Wimbledon 2021: Full capacity for finals at London's All England Club
The Wimbledon finals will be played in front of capacity crowds this year as the Government confirmed plans for up to 20 pilot events across sport and entertainment.
The final steps of the coronavirus recovery road map were delayed by four weeks, until July 19, due to a rise in cases linked to the Delta variant of Covid-19.
But Wimbledon’s women’s final on July 10 and men’s the following day will be watched by a full Centre Court in south west London.
“We want to gather further evidence on how we can open up all big events safely, and for good,” Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said.
“The expansion of trials of the NHS app and lateral-flow testing will mean that bigger crowds will be able to attend a limited number of major sporting and cultural events early this summer as part of our events research programme.
Wimbledon welcomed Monday evening’s developments and said it would announce further details on Wednesday regarding spectator capacity and Covid protocols for the Championships.
A statement read: "We are pleased to have worked closely with the government, public health bodies, and our local authority in Merton, to confirm that, as part of this next phase of pilot events, The Championships 2021 will begin on Monday 28 June with 50 per cent capacity across the Grounds, building to full capacity crowds of 15,000 on Centre Court for the Finals weekend.
"This will enable us to fulfil our aspiration of staging the best Wimbledon possible within the current circumstances, with the health and safety of all those who make Wimbledon happen - our guests, competitors, Members, staff, media, officials, local residents, and partners - remaining our highest priority.
"We are continuing to work closely with the Government to finalise the details of our participation in the Event Research Programme, including the requirements for Covid-status certification for spectators. We will be issuing a further update on Wednesday 16 June to confirm these details."