The Queue

got 6 hours to spare?
come queue here!
this is wimbledon!
day one to be exact on 29^th June 2015, 8.30am.
why is the queue good?
it is a fair system which allocates scarce, limited and relatively cheap tickets to insatiable demand from people who may have the time but not necessarily the means to pay or not necessarily want to pay the exorbitant scalper prices.
daily release of tickets set aside just for your queuing pleasure, makes wimbledon a unique grand slam experience.
all are welcome.
come early and come in a group to maximize your enjoyment.
although i did it alone and armed only with a copy of the daily mail (as i was the queue virgin), i quickly made friends in the queue and learned much of what to expect from my british veteran queue companion, john, who is 84 years old young!
if he can do this every year, i can!
coming from a country that was once a british colony also helped as i am already well acquainted with the concept of orderly queuing.
and in my culture, the longer the queue is, the better is the product you are queuing for!
the queue is just that, systematic and orderly with a quality product waiting at the other end.
everyone came prepared with mats, umbrellas, sunscreen, food and beverage, reading material, games and for those camping overnight, tents!
no queue jumping, no complaining.
everyone was enjoying the good sunny weather, perhaps a little too much sun, getting a rare london bronze.
for those who came ill prepared like i did, fear not.
your ticketed number in the queue is guaranteed.
so you can pretty much go for a quick meal, drink or toilet break without fear of losing your place in the queue.
just hang on to your numbered queue card and guard it with your life.
there are various checkpoints along the way where you will need to produce your queue card in order to proceed.
they will also restrict your progress at these checkpoints if you are a queue jumper, even if you have a queue card, so stay in line.
for more details, please refer to your free copy of a guide to queuing.
wimbledon park is the main holding area for the queue.
so do arrive via southfields tube station and follow the well posted signages to the queue.
here will be your home for the next few hours, so do get comfortable.
most of the wait here, can be done standing, sitting or sleeping with the latter two options strongly recommended.
the telegraph, the guardian and official programmes can be purchased from mobile sales team, if you are short on reading material to tide you over.
a word of caution is that your free the telegraph’s tote bag will not be allowed in the all england lawn tennis and croquet club!
they will confiscate them at their security checkpoint!
the stewards and staff were all very friendly and helpful in providing useful updates, information and also in ensuring the smooth, clean progress of the queue.
once your sitting, sleeping queue becomes a standing, walking queue, you are not far from entrance to the grounds and everything speeds up.
you will exit the park and wind around the edge of the golf course towards the security checkpoint.
along the way there will be live telecasts, both audio and visual of ongoing matches.
free robinsons squash, lavazza coffee and evian water will continue to keep you hydrated.
keen for a game of tennis?
yes, you can whilst still in the queue!
a kosher food stand was also available along the way and that was where i had my late lunch.
the left luggage service under the dark oak tree is next, for any oversized items that cannot be admitted into the grounds.
thereafter you are screened for security ala airport, do empty everything on oneself that might set off the detectors.
once pass that, it is a free for all foot race to the turnstile for your much awaited ticket!
remember, cash only!
even though i was briefly thwarted at the final hurdle (that particular turnstile ran out of tickets, please join another queue), i eventually got my hands on that elusive ticket!
it was an ecstatic feeling, a feeling of achievement mixed with relieve.
will i do it again?
probably not.
do i recommend it?
yes but hopefully, in the future, they will issue you a free i did the queue tee instead of just the sticker!

I am a Wimbledon visitor of 2013 and have enjoyed two different experiences by waiting in the queue for which I would like to give my feedback.
1. On Monday, 23^rd of June, I joined the queue from 8.30. I was visitor number 8950 and I was told that I should be able to get in after noon. The fact is that I entered only at 17.30 (thus waiting 9h) for seeing only 3h of tennis. 2. On Tuesday, 24^th of June, I joined the queue from 6.00. I was visitor number 1750 and I should have entered the grounds at 10.30. I could have entered at 11.00 if it weren’t for two exclusive invitations I got from a company on Central Court. It was a delight!
For 1 I experienced the worst possible organisation since: there was no entertainment, it was all too boring just standing there, the weather conditions were terrible: simply waiting in the cold. Here are a few suggestions for providing a way better experience with very cheap costs for the poor people just waiting outside and desiring so much to have a glimpse of the best tennis in the world: — Put chairs on the side for people to sit and not to roll down;- Mount some screens to broadcast the matches in order to provide some entertainment;- The people singing and providing some entertainment was ok, but this happened only on Tuesday for early comers and not on Monday for late comers standing outside. — Don’t sell blankets, just borrow them for free for a short period of time. It seems that you want to make money out of everything. It is outrageous. — Provide warm drinks for free;- There is a great number of empty seats (you can spot this even during the live broadcast of the event) on the main courts. This means your process of allocating seats is not optimal. Sell those tickets to the people outside as soon as possible. — Allow people to enter immediately as someone exits. I remember on Monday I waited for 2h for a small group of people to enter. I am sure that in all this time a few people must have left the grounds.
Thank you & best regards, George

As a Womble (Wimbledon native) there is a Jekyll and Hyde reaction to the tennis championships, but as I am English I love the queue. There was a time when I used go out to the local pubs in the village or end up in Po Na Na before heading to the Q in the humid balmy early morning with some friends to drink some more till morning, make some new friends and legally sleep on the street.
Although whilst you will get a ticket (depending on the day you might get Centre court, court no1 or just a ground admission) for the tennis championships by being in the queue over night, there has been changes afoot to the Queue. It used to actually be two queues, one heading towards Wimbledon and twisting round the north side of Wimbledon Park and this was my fav overnight queue. The other headed down Wimbledon Park road to the north side of the park towards Southfields tube station. This was the boring queue in my opinion. I used to love seeing people in these queues driving past as a child with my mum driving past the All England club each summer, it was such a unique sight.
Ahunter is right about the enterprising people and this has always been the case with stalls in people’s front drives selling t-​shirts, food, parking spaces, and freebies often given out to those in the queue. I have ordered a chinese once and you even get special editions of the daily newspapers from about 4:45ameven they come with freebies sometimes!!! What you wont find is people offering you tickets, because by being in the queue you should be getting in to a showcourt so scalpers (touts) are a real rarity.
A few years back the Rafter vs Ivansevic final being held on the Monday after the tournament is over caused a problem. ALL 15,000 centre court tickets were available for the first time. Therefore with public safety being a concern Police asked Merton Council to host the queue in the car park space in Wimbledon Parkman that was a party atmosphere of Croats and Aussies! The match wasn’t bad too but i was tired from the all night drinking.
Anywaythat night led to the idea of Merton council hosting ‘the queue’ in Wimbledon Park. This became the new rules of the queue in 2008 where the two queues were closed into a one queue, queuing system. It has ruined part of the tradtion as you pass less houses, but a new kind of tradition will live on and the international feel remainsbut on a positive note, it was difficult to get your tent to stay up in a storm on the sloping Church Road pavement and tent pegs like Wimbledon Park’s football pitches! Enjoy the queue!
Take to the Queue: Picnic, cash, umbrella, tent, change of cholthes for the following day, reading material, Pimms, friends, a love of tennis.