FULL CROWDS FOR WIMBLEDON FINALS

WIMBLEDON finals weekend will welcome full houses next month after the government boosted crowds for a range of summer sports events. The rest of the tournament will be at 50 per cent capacity, and the same ratio will allow 40,000 fans into Wembley for its Euro 2020 round of 16 match, plus the semi-finals and final. The relaxations were a sweetener to boris Johnson’s bitter pill after ‘Freedom day’ of June 21 was postponed for four weeks. Rugby league’s Challenge Cup final, the open golf at sandwich and the british grand Prix at silverstone should also see attendances raised above the previously expected limits. Wimbledon will welcome 20,000 fans a day for most of the tournament, with ticket details published tomorrow, and Centre Court will be full for the singles and doubles finals on July 10 and 11. Culture secretary oliver dowden said: ‘We want to gather further evidence on

how we can open up all big events safely, and for good. The expansion of trials of the nHS app and Lateral Flow Testing mean bigger crowds will be able to attend a limited number of major sporting and cultural events early this summer.’ Bosses at Silverstone, home of the British Grand Prix, are guardedly confident of attracting their customary crowd of up to 140,000 on July 18, the eve of the possible next ‘Freedom day’ announced by the Prime Minister yesterday. Silverstone have long argued to dowden that a capacity attendance is crucial to their survival, having run the event without fans last year at a grievous cost. However, Silverstone’s managing director Stuart Pringle awaits news in the next few days to see if his campaign has won approval. It is understood the dCMS made a strong case on the track’s behalf within Whitehall’s corridors of power. Sportsmail understands Health Secretary Matt Hancock also backs controlled pilot events. Silverstone are progressing their sale of tickets in anticipation of a capacity crowd, with 95 per cent of tickets already sold.