The first day of Wimbledon was disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters outside the All England Lawn Tennis Club in west London. More than 100 people gathered outside gates 3-5 in a protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Protesters shouted “While you watch, bombs fall” and had posters targeting Barclays’ sponsorship of Wimbledon, based on the British multinational bank’s financial relationship with nine defense companies that supply arms to Israel.
There were also flags and protests outside the London Underground station in Southfield. Protesters used strawberries – the fruit intrinsically associated with Wimbledon – to represent blood. A banner read: “Wimbledon strawberries tainted with Palestinian blood, courtesy of Barclays”.
The October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel and the subsequent war in Israel and Gaza sparked several protests in London in the following months.
A statement from Barclays, which became Wimbledon’s official banking partner in early 2023, said: “We are proud to be working with Wimbledon to support the development of championships and opportunities for young people across the UK through the Wimbledon Foundation.”
“Like many other banks, we provide financial services to companies that supply defense products to the United Kingdom, NATO and its allies”.
Barclays has been the target of several protests since October 7, with two of its branches in Manchester vandalized in May. Several branches across the UK were also targeted in January.
A spokesman for the All England Club said: “Barclays is a key partner of ours and we work closely with them on a number of areas, including the Set for Success programme, which helps support disadvantaged secondary students in schools across the UK.”.
“As a result of support from Barclays, this program has expanded from 19 to 42 secondary schools across the UK, enabling more young people to gain confidence and develop leadership skills to improve their future life chances.”.