After winning the
Aegon Tennis Championships at The Queen’s Club on 16th June, the question many tennis fans are asking is: “Can Andy Murray win Wimbledon this year?”
Andy Murray won the “Queens” men’s singles title by beating Croatian Marin Cilic 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in the final. The British No.1 delighted home fans by coming from a set behind to defeat the defending champion as the sun came out in London on the final day of the championship.
Now all thoughts turn to
Wimbledon! I remember Andy Murray’s emotional runners-up speech last year and feel that he won over many doubters as he showed how much winning Wimbledon really meant to him.
This year Murray is the second seed in the men’s singles tournament with Novak Djokovic in first, Roger Federer seeded third, David Ferrer in fourth and Rafael Nadal is seeded fifth.
The Championships at Wimbledon commence on Monday 24th June for 2 weeks. The dates for this world renown tournament are etched in the minds of all tennis fans and those of whom were not lucky enough to get tickets in the ballot or are not attending any corporate hospitality, have the choice of queuing up outside the courts for left over tickets or are glued to the television.
Our Course Director,
Justine Kane, feels that there may be missed opportunities here for
Event Managers. She comments:
“Somehow I am always surprised to note that a trick is being missed by many event companies and marketing teams not making the most of the thousands strong captive audience who are in the queue – you heard it here first!”
To get you in the mood, here are 5 Facts about this year’s Wimbledon Tournament from the
official website:
- Wimbledon is the largest single annual sporting catering operation carried out in Europe.
- The grounds are owned by the All England Lawn Tennis Ground and the total area, including the Club’s car parks, covers over 42 acres with capacity for 38,500 spectators.
- The All England Club will award a total of £22,560,000 in prize money to competitors at The Championships, 2013.
- Some 335 officials work at The Championships as chair umpires, line umpires or off-court staff. There are approximately 250 ball boys and girls at Wimbledon every year.
- The All England Club has two official tour operators who provide hospitality packages, including tickets and London hotel accommodation.
The Championships have definitely moved with the times and now you can follow every second on
social media and through the
live blogs. Each year gets more interactive with more choice for the viewer and listener. The
BBC has also increased its coverage with its “biggest ever (Wimbledon) on digital with a record 10 live streams available on computer, tablet, mobile and connected TV.”
I can’t wait for this fantastic sporting event! Will the sun shine on Wimbledon this year?
Images from www.lta.org.uk and www.wimbledon.com
