Due to the typically British rainy weather, numerous tennis matches in Wimbledon have already been postponed. But now climate chaos is causing further turbulence.
During the game between Grigor Dimitrov of Belarus and Sho Shimabukuro of Japan, demonstrators suddenly ran onto the court and threw confetti and puzzle pieces onto the pitch.
The demonstrators came from the organization “Just Stop Oil”, which calls for the halt to all new oil, gas and coal projects in Great Britain. The perpetrators claimed responsibility for the protest on Twitter and wrote of “orange clouds over a British sporting event”.
“Following an incident in 18th place, two people were arrested on suspicion of serious trespassing and property damage and have now been removed from the grounds,” said the Wimbledon organizers on Twitter: “The game on the pitch was temporarily suspended and after a break due to rain the game will resume soon.”
In the run-up to the Grand Slam, the organizers had already tightened up the safety precautions. This led to long queues at the entrance on the first three days. The stewards had been instructed to search all pockets particularly thoroughly. The activists had smuggled in the confetti and the puzzle pieces in the box of a puzzle that showed a picture of the center court.
Climate activists at sporting events
Climate activists have also appeared at other major sporting events in the recent past. At the Diamond League meeting of track and field athletes in Stockholm, environmental activists caused a scandal last weekend.
The group occupied the tartan track during an ongoing 800-meter race and obstructed the finish line. No one was hurt, but the anger was still great afterwards.
In winter, activists blocked the track at the men’s cross-country mass start in Lillehammer. Shortly before the field and the protesters could collide, security forces intervened.
In Formula 1, supporters of the activist group “Just stop Oil” entered the track at Silverstone last year during the opening lap. Traffic was slowed down by a red flag at the time. Luckily there was no accident. However, the dangerous actions caused a great moment of shock.