Increased police presence as Sandwich hosts The Open
There will be an increased police presence in East Kent over the coming week as the Royal St George’s Golf Club hosts The 149th Open.The Championship, which will see players from all over the world compete for the Claret Jug, will run at the golf course in Sandwich from 11 to 18 July 2021.The event is included in the government’s Event Research Programme, enabling The Open to take place with higher capacities than the current coronavirus guidance.It means crowds of up to 32,000 are expected on each of the Championship days from 15 to 18 July with less expected on the practice days from 11 to 14 July.
Kent Police says it has been working hard to ensure 'the public and players are kept safe during the Championship and any impact on the local community is kept to a minimum'.
Assistant Chief Constable Nikki Faulconbridge said: "The Open is the biggest sporting event hosted in Kent this year and we want everyone to enjoy the week."This has been several years in the planning, with last year’s event being cancelled due to the pandemic but we have been constantly working behind the scenes with the event organisers and local partners to ensure the event is successful but also minimises any disruption to the local community."We will have a large number of trained and specialist officers at The Open with a great deal of experience of policing an event of this nature and size to ensure it is successful and the public are kept safe."