Protesters interrupted play twice on Court 18 at Wimbledon on Wednesday. Photo: AP/Alastair Grant
No sooner had the two incorrigible attention-seekers frolicked on Court 18 than the BBC's cameras quietly moved back. As if to protect the sensitive sensibilities of daytime viewers, the crew chose not to broadcast the slightly pathetic spectacle of activists scattering orange ribbon across the grass from a 1,000-piece puzzle box. Mind you, this was a Wimbledon special edition puzzle, so at least the club shop got some extra money from them first.
Increasingly, Just Stop Oil campaigners are turning into the strikers of our century. There was once a tremendous novelty in this action, but now it's all a little cheap and predictable. When Melissa Johnson, a 23-year-old waitress, became the first person to run naked across Center Court during the 1996 men's final, the reaction was not so much horror as barely disguised approval. John McEnroe called for «replays from every angle», and Peter Seddon, in his book The Strangest Matches of Tennis, remarked that «17-year-old Lord Frederick Windsor looked as if he hadn't had so much fun playing tennis-ups yet.» started.
But six years later, self-proclaimed «professional streaker» Mark Roberts copied a loose interpretation of Johnson's dress code and immediately got a footnote. Where Johnson left defeated finalist Malivaya Washington «thrilled,» all Roberts got was a short stint at the Wimbledon police station for his troubles. The moral of the story is that the stunt will never be as shocking the second time around. And therein lies the problem with Just Stop Oil: after their third foray into the coveted British sporting event in three months, their intrusions are met not with alarm and horror, but with sheer contempt.
The crowd at Court 18 didn't look as if, after the environmental bigots so rudely interrupted their daytime entertainment, they weren't about to reconsider flying to New Zealand or buying Tesla shares. The reaction was grim fury, with cries of «Oh no, not again» and «Get them out of here.» This is the impeccable leader of middle England, this tournament, and once again the prevailing mood of the spectators reflected the mood of the nation.
After Edred Whittingham, an Exeter student, sprinkled bright orange dust on green cloth at the Crucible in April, polls showed that the majority in the country held an unfavorable opinion of Just Stop Oil. This proportion threatens to mushroom after the foot soldiers of the movement burst into the sacred acres of SW19. Those who patiently waited in the morning rain wanted to enjoy their passes a little, and not the dull pantomime when officials try to shift puzzle pieces with a blower.
Especially when it happened twice in one day. As if the solvent customers weren't already offended by the break in Grigor Dimitrov's victory, they were all but mutinous by the time another intruder got his five seconds of fame by throwing fistfuls of ticker tape around like the world's most unwanted confetti thrower. It's not that you can imagine Wimbledon goers causing a riot. Most of them are so well brought up that they would have to be persuaded to even write a harsh letter. But everyone here is bored with the ugliness of well-deserved fun.
The protesters seem unable to grasp the fact that they are ruining what for many is a precious moment that has been waiting for months. As I entered the Central Court this week, I stood behind a woman who said to her daughter, «All my dreams came true at the same time.» With full coverage from the BBC, the first experience of Wimbledon is like walking across a TV screen. Newcomers want to enjoy the glitz of perfection, pausing to gaze at the lovingly manicured purple rhododendrons or the sumptuous entrance to the Center while happily queuing for the first half-hour of strawberries and cream. What they absolutely do not want is to watch some prankster distort a beautiful green and purple canvas with a jigsaw.
It could have been worse for Wimbledon. Can you imagine the hype if the Just Stop Oil mob disrupted Roger Federer's presentation at the Royal Box with their trademark orange vandalism? But it could have been much better. Security has been meticulous this week, even the straps of backpacks have been carefully searched for contraband, and yet the saboteurs have crept through the cordon with embarrassing ease.
If this is chaos? they can arrange at a tennis tournament, you shudder at the thought of what a dull encore they could write at Silverstone this weekend. In Formula 1, those who violate the perimeter of the track are not just trouble, but violators who want to die. Last year, five of them boarded the track after the British Grand Prix was red-flagged due to Zhou Guangyu's crash at the first corner. “Totally irresponsible,” said Stefano Domenicali, chief executive of F1. «Really funny». They were arrested, but the chances of a repeat are high. Their calculation is that the more popular the event — and this race draws the biggest gates in the UK sporting year — the more attention is paid to their cause. Only now they receive not exposure, but ridicule and contempt.
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