The crowd on Center Court and on Court No. 1 at Wimbledon will increase to 100% capacity from the singles quarter-finals through the end of the tournament.
The All England Club reported Sunday that it will represent “the first full outdoor stadiums at a sporting event” in Britain since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year.
Wimbledon was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the first time in 75 years that the oldest Grand Slam did not take place.
The club said that the increase from what had been a capacity limited to 50% in the two main arenas comes after the “successful staging of the first week” of the tournament and after the government gave authorization.
After Monday’s fourth-round matches, the quarterfinals are scheduled to start on Tuesday for the women’s division and on Wednesday for the men’s. Subsequently, the semifinals are held and the women’s final is scheduled for next Saturday and the men’s for July 11.
Before the tournament began, the All England Club had said that it could allow full capacity only for the singles finals.
The central court can hold 14,979 people and court number 1 has a capacity of 12,345. The number of fans allowed in the rest of the complex “will be reduced depending on the number of fields with activity,” said the tournament.
Attendees will still need to show proof of their COVID-19 status when they arrive at the complex daily, whether they have tested negative for coronavirus within 48 hours or are fully vaccinated. (AP)