Locals threaten travelling Wimbledon spectators with ‘anti-social’ sex and drugs posters

In an interesting turn of events, the residents of the areas surrounding Wimbledon have released warnings to tourists and fans visiting the tennis tournament regarding ‘anti-social’ activities such as drugs and sex parties. The iconic two-week long tournament is an important aspect of Wimbledon’s cultural landscape, and the money it earns via tourism is quite significant. However, the locals and residents of the area are seemingly not very pleased by the influence the vast number of visitors has to their area of the city. Wimbledon is one of the wealthier boroughs south of the River Thames in London, and is surrounded by woodland and parkland, which attracts spectators and fans looking to engage in parties during and after day’s play in the Wimbledon fortnight.

There have been signs spotted on the streets of the area, warning spectators that while they are welcome to enjoy the event at SW19, behaviour that could disturb the peace would not be tolerated. They even threaten police involvement, claiming that police would be patrolling those areas to ensure visitors would not be partaking in sex parties and the excessive consumption of drugs and alcohol.

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One sign reads “The police will be patrolling this area and carpark because of previous anti-social behaviour during the Wimbledon fortnight, so you have been warned. Enjoy the tennis and you will always be welcomed back.”

Wimbledon’s tennis club is placed in a residential area, and that might be the reason why the long queues and large groups of fans would often prove bothersome to the people who live in those neighbourhoods. One local, speaking to the Daily Star in the UK, claims “During Wimbledon fortnight, especially if the weather gets hot, people get carried away and pop into the woods. I’ve seen couples having sex, drugs parties, everything really.”

They continue: “With so many fans camping in the park it turns into a big party after dark and people just get carried away especially if they’ve been knocking back the Pimms (an alcoholic beverage) all day. We’ve put notices up in the past, but they just get ripped down. Hopefully the police will step up their patrols this year and kick out anyone they catch wanting a love match.”

Many spectators queue up in the parks surrounding Wimbledon with the hope of gaining entry into the grounds, sometimes for days on end. This has caused some trouble in the past as they camp in those parks, and Wimbledon did release an official guidebook for rules and regulations about waiting in the queue. This includes not playing loud music and intolerance for “inappropriate behaviour”.

Wimbledon is finally returning in full force in 2022, with the Covid-19 outbreak having cancelled the tournament in 2020 and spectatorship being limited in 2021. The tournament began on Monday and will go on for two weeks, ending with the finals weekend on July 9th and 10th.