Combine queueing and Wimbledon, and you get the most British experience possible – but none of it would be possible without the workers who keep fans in line.
Queueing for hours on end with no guarantee of an end result feels pretty preposterous. But never doubt the British. Every year, thousands of tennis fans brave whatever elements are thrown at them for the chance to catch the action on Wimbledon’s grass. That’s thanks to the Queue, such a hallmark of the Championships that it gets a capital Q in official communications.
For those unfamiliar, the Wimbledon Championships are one of very few elite sporting events where fans can buy face value premium tickets on the day. It would be easy for organisers to sell every last ticket in advance or bundle them into expensive hospitality packages, but instead, thousands of Grounds Tickets and 500 tickets each for No. 2, No. 1, and Centre Court are kept in reserve for faithful queuers every day. The only exception is the final four days on Centre Court, where all tickets are sold in advance.
For Ryan Barclay, 25, who queued in 2019, it’s the most “authentic” way to experience Wimbledon. He met fellow queuers from Africa and Japan; he himself travelled down from Glasgow, and says he would not have had the chance to see the Championships without the Queue.
“I thought it was great. That was what made the sport so accessible,” Ryan told Sidelines.
“I had quite a positive sort of queuing experience – there were some interesting people asking, you know, where you come from, what made you commute, what makes you queue?
“There’s a kind of shared value between you and the other people involved in that queue.”
Many arrive in the small hours of the morning, even the night before, to give themselves prime position in the line. There are even left luggage facilities for fans to store their tents in. It’s often the dedicated fans who are praised when talking about the queue but Ryan points out that another group is “vital” to its success: the stewards.
Who runs the Wimbledon Queue?
The Wimbledon queue stewards are on hand 24 hours a day to assist fans with everything from entertainment to tennis knowledge to practical help. Unlike a show such as a concert or comedy gig, there’s no warm-up act to keep fans entertained, and unsurprisingly, the length of the wait and the unpredictability of the British weather can lead to the mood dipping. Ryan tells Sidelines how stewards took matters into their own hands to help the atmosphere.
“We had a steward who was doing juggling, and someone else who was trying to do the alphabet backwards, which was quite interesting!”
“They were good at keeping morale up, even though I would say it’s quite a repetitive and boring kind of job, in many respects. I wouldn’t necessarily enjoy it, but they had quite a bit of enthusiasm for it.”
The stewards also served as the resident experts helping tennis fanatics get their fix of sports chat before they got in to see the action. “People were asking a lot of very detailed questions about things like playing style, about shot type, all this stuff. Even though you kind of know (the stewards) are answering this for potentially thousands of people a day, they still had a level of enthusiasm about it that I thought was quite refreshing.
“It was quite a difficult kind of job, but they did it very well.”
Ryan’s patience paid off and he made it in to see an “entertaining” game of doubles – proving that the Queue can yield brilliant memories for fans, all made possible by the patience and dedication of the stewards who keep them safe.
“it was fantastic. An unforgettable experience, for sure.”
Sidelines Recommends
Wimbledon’s ball boys and girls: the view from the courtside
Every summer, the Wimbledon Championships provides fans worldwide with the best players and produces the best tennis, but the people who work behind the scenes make it all happen.
Serving up success: one expert’s impact on tennis
Think extraordinary aces happen by accident? Think again. As we build up to the Wimbledon Championships, Sidelines spoke to a world-leading expert on the tennis serve. Few actions in sport combine quiet grace and lethal power quite like the tennis serve. It can make…
The team sport of mental health
From tackling stigmatising language in the media to filling gaps in care for those struggling, there is a team off the field working to improve mental health in sport. In Volunteers’ Week, Sidelines spotlights the work of Sport in Mind. Mental health within sport is…
