Armed police cordon to be placed around Wimbledon
Unprecedented security following terror attacks Major sporting events announce lockdown
Armed police and roadblocks will form a ring of steel around Wimbledon next month in the biggest security crackdown in the Championships’ 140-year history, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
The terrorist atrocities to strike London, Manchester and other major cities in the past year have prompted the All England Club and Metropolitan Police to take unprecedented steps to prevent the biggest event in tennis falling victim to a suicide bomber or vehicle attack.
The 2017 Athletics World Championships in London will witness a similar lockdown, while golf ’s Open Championship, the British Grand Prix and Royal Ascot will also be subject to higher-than-ever security during the country’s biggest sporting summer since the 2012 Olympics.
For the first time at Wimbledon, checkpoints will be stationed on the roads surrounding the grounds to restrict vehicle access, with a “dedicated deployment” of armed officers also on duty during the Championships.
The proximity of those roads to the gates through which half a million spectators are expected to flood between July 3-16 makes the Championships especially vulnerable to the kind of attacks to strike London Bridge on Saturday night, Westminster Bridge barely two months earlier and the likes of Nice, Berlin and Stockholm in the past year.
The Met told The Daily Telegraph: “The Metropolitan Police Service is working closely with the All England Lawn Tennis Club to prepare for the 2017 Wimbledon Championships.
“We will not discuss specific security arrangements that will form part of our policing operation. However, in light of recent events, including the attack in Manchester, the operation has been, and will continue to be, thoroughly reviewed. A range of tactics will be put in place, some highly visible, including enhanced physical security and some that the public will not notice, which includes a dedicated deployment of armed officers. Armed officers have supported the policing operation in previous years.”
The All England Club issued a near-identical statement, having already announced at its spring press conference that security would also be beefed up for Wimbledon’s June 26-29 qualifying tournament in Roehampton, which Maria Sharapova will enter following the expiry of her doping ban.
The owners of the London Stadium have also implemented additional ‘hostile vehicle mitigation’ measures ahead of this summer’s athletics and para-athletics World Championships. Many were already in place for the London 2012, but recent atrocities prompted an extension. Roads around the Olympic Park are expected to be closed, with concrete barriers in place to thwart any vehicle attack.
Armed police are expected to patrol the park, while ticket checks are expected to take place at five checkpoints on the bridges that connect the stadium to the rest of the park.
Organisers of golf’s 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale were last night still finalising security arrangements for the July 20-23 event.
But the chief executive of the Royal & Ancient Club, Martin Slumbers, indicated it would be tighter than ever. He told bunkered.co.uk: “You may well see more overt security this year than we’ve seen at any other Open.”
The July 14-16 British Grand Prix was set for a similar crackdown, with Northamptonshire Police confirming armed officers would be deployed for the second successive year alongside other measures.
A spokeswoman said: “Proportionate mitigation has been undertaken in view of current attack methods.”
Royal Ascot, which takes place from June 20-24 and is attended by the Queen, confirmed there would be “a particularly visible armed police presence at the venue, with more sniffer dogs in circulation and bag searching” and urged spectators to arrive earlier than usual.
The International Cricket Council announced that “enhanced security” around Champions Trophy venues put in place following last month’s Manchester attack would remain in force.
This includes the deployment of armed police and searches of every vehicle coming to each ground, something that had not been planned prior to the bombing.
England players were also given a special briefing yesterday following the London Bridge incident, with security for their remaining summer internationals said to be “under constant review”.
Armed officers will be on duty during England’s World Cup qualifier against Scotland at Hampden Park on Saturday, as they were for last month’s Scottish Cup final there, as well as the FA Cup final and play-off finals at Wembley.
The Scottish Football Association warned spectators attending this weekend’s game to expect to be searched on both Hampden’s outer perimeter and at the turnstiles, encouraging them to arrive early.
The match is expected to be preceded by a minute’s silence, with both sides wearing black armbands.
At the French Open, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray yesterday paid an on-court tribute to those who lost their lives at London Bridge and in the Manchester suicide bombing. Speaking after reaching the quarter-finals in Paris, he said: “I am sure everybody will join me in sharing their thoughts and prayers with everyone who has been affected by this.”
Former champions Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were among the players to state they had every intention of competing at the Championships despite Saturday’s attack.