Wimbledon play disrupted twice as Just Stop Oil protesters invade court
[Video from BBC Sport shows the first court disruption]
Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted play twice at Wimbledon on Wednesday after invading Court 18.
In the latest incident, a man entered the court during British number one Katie Boulter’s match with Daria Saville and threw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces just hours after the first incident.
Both players helped clear the court after the protester was escorted away. Play resumed approximately 10 minutes later.
Before that, protesters ran onto the court during a match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro and also threw orange-coloured confetti and a jigsaw onto the grass, before one protester sat down on the court.
In a statement, Just Stop Oil said “we can’t leave it to the next generation to pick up the pieces”, after two protesters threw confetti and a jigsaw on Court 18 at Wimbledon.
Deborah Wilde, 68, a retired teacher from London, who was one of the protesters who ran on the court shortly after 2.10pm, said: “I’m just an ordinary grandmother in resistance to this government’s policy of serving us new oil and gas licences. In normal circumstances this sort of disruption would be entirely unacceptable, but these aren’t normal circumstances.
“We’ve just had the hottest June on record, breaking the previous record by nearly a whole degree! We don’t need Hawk-eye to see that our government issuing over 100 new fossil fuel licences is a very bad line call.
“Forget strawberries and cream, scientists are warning of impending food shortages, mass displacement and war. We are facing new pandemics, economic inflation and increasingly authoritarian governments who will attempt to crush civil unrest.
“This is a crisis and it needs a crisis response. I want a safe future, not just for my grandchildren but for all children around the world and the generations to come.”
The other Just Stop Oil protester who invaded Court 18 at Wimbledon was Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, a retired musician, from Manchester.
He said: “I’m here for my grandchildren and everybody else’s. I’m not prepared to let our politicians wreck everything and leave the next generation to pick up the pieces.
“The last thing I want to do is spoil people’s enjoyment of Wimbledon, but right now, on Centre Court, it’s humanity versus oil and gas – and the umpire is getting every call wrong.
“How long are we going to take this before we see a McEnroe-level meltdown?”
Two people have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage after Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted play on Court 18 at Wimbledon, the tournament said in a statement on Twitter.
Wimbledon was put on high alert for disruption and organisers were blaming slow queues on increased security checks.
The club’s chief executive, Sally Bolton, told reporters that security arrangements were boosted after Just Stop Oil disrupted the second Ashes test at Lord’s, the Gallagher Premiership rugby final at Twickenham and the World Snooker Championship.
She told journalists this included a “100% bag search” and “selective body search” at all gates – the latter of which will be conducted “on the basis of intelligence”.
Chalk dust or powder substances have also been banned this year and were not listed as prohibited items in 2022.
The activists were pictured holding placards on an escalator in the Knightsbridge shop on Wednesday, before security bundled a photographer out of the building, JSO said.
A spokesperson for Harrods said: “A group from Just Stop Oil staged a small protest in-store today before being swiftly escorted out of the building by our security team.
"There was no impact on operations, and we continued to welcome customers in-store as normal.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has been holding talks with senior sporting figures and police leaders on protecting Wimbledon and other events this summer. Event organisers and national sporting bodies have met Ms Braverman and Sports Secretary Lucy Frazer to discuss the Just Stop Oil and Animal Rising groups. The Home Office declined to set out which policing leaders and sporting groups are attending the meeting.
At the weekend Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted London’s Pride march in protest over the parade accepting sponsorship money from “high-polluting industries”. A number of protesters were arrested after blocking the road in front of a Coca-Cola truck. After 16 minutes, police arrested seven protesters for public nuisance offences and the parade continued again one minute later. Video posted online showed officers picking up protesters and carrying them away. Just Stop Oil has previously warned it would take action as it called on organisers of the major event to ban floats from “high-polluting” sponsors and to condemn new oil, gas and coal. One witness said that the activists spoiled the fun for thousands of people. Neil, 49, from East London, was watching the parade when the protesters ran out in front of him and blocked the Coca-Cola truck. “There was about eight of them I think,” he said.
Coca‑Cola Great Britain said it was dedicated to creating "a more sustainable and better shared future for all. That’s a priority for us across all of our brands and product".
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