Climate protests disrupts Wimbledon

Climate activists disrupted Wimbledon matches on Wednesday, scattering orange confetti and jigsaw puzzle pieces in the latest major sporting event protest.

Two men and a woman were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage while wearing T-shirts with the words “Just Stop Oil” printed on them.

Two incidents occurred on Court 18, one of the All England Club’s show courts, about two hours apart.

During the first-round match between 21st seed Grigor Dimitrov and Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro, two protesters ran onto the court.

As spectators booed and jeered, one fan yelled, “Get off the court!”

A third protester disrupted the match between Katie Boulter of the United Kingdom and Daria Saville of Australia, both of whom helped clear the court after the activist was escorted away.

The protests prompted UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman to issue a warning after hosting top sports officials to try to prevent similar disruptions at future sporting events.

“The Wimbledon protesters were determined to ruin the day’s play for spectators and sports fans all over the world,” she said.

“This is intolerable. We will be unyieldingly tough on selfish protesters intent on sabotaging our world-class sporting events this summer.”

Just Stop Oil wants the UK government to stop all new oil and gas exploration and has promised not to stop protesting until that happens.

“The supporters threw environmentally friendly orange confetti glitter and jigsaw pieces onto the court before being removed,” the group said after the first demonstration.

“Play was temporarily halted while marshals collected the pieces.”

“I’m here for my grandchildren and everyone else’s,” said Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, who took part in the action.

“I’m not going to stand by and watch our politicians wreck everything while the next generation picks up the pieces.”

– Increased security – Dimitrov said his first instinct was to intervene, but he realised “it’s not my place to do that.”

“Obviously, it’s not pleasant,” the Bulgarian added. There isn’t much you can do at the end of the day. “I believe everyone did their part as quickly as possible.”

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Wimbledon police have increased security following protests elsewhere in the UK.

Last week, three Just Stop Oil protesters sprayed the ground with the group’s trademark orange powder during the second Ashes cricket Test at Lord’s.

Similar protests occurred during the recent World Snooker Championship and English Premiership rugby final.

The group has also set its sights on Premier League games as well as the Formula One British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Police now have more authority to stop and search protesters for items like padlocks and superglue, as well as arrest people suspected of causing a public nuisance.

Tougher checks on spectators have been blamed for the delays and standstills in the Wimbledon queue on the first day.

Former world number four Tim Henman, who sits on the All England Club’s board of directors, said it was difficult to guarantee there would be no protests.

“You do your best to prepare,” he told the BBC. “Obviously, it’s not easy when you’ve got 35,000-plus people coming to your grounds and 18 fields of play.”

“As a result, it will be critical for everyone to understand the facts and where these people are and have come from, but it’s frustrating.”

“We’ve had enough weather disruptions. It’s disappointing to have another disruption.“