We’re thrilled to have Wimbledon Town Centre buzzing with activity again this summer. There is something on offer for everyone.
Our Summer of Sport is off to a roaring start, with plenty going on throughout July and August. Our Big Screen on The Piazza features world-class tennis direct from The Wimbledon Championships, culminating in the big finals weekend on 13 & 14 July. We’re also excited to be extending our Big Screen coverage to showcase the Summer Olympic Games from Paris, starting 26 July and on every day until 11 August.
The Piazza is the place to be in Central Wimbledon, with an array of seating for all those wanting to relax and soak up the atmosphere of the Big Screen, plus food and drink options to satisfy all tastes. Enhanced this year with a running track and winners’ podium, our sporting experiential is open and free for everyone to enjoy all summer long. Day 1 of The Championships has already served up an appearance by Ash Barty on The Piazza, who was speaking about her return to Wimbledon to Australian TV. The fortnight ahead is guaranteed to bring even more excitement.
Our new Town Centre Map is being distributed daily to visitors arriving at Wimbledon Station and is also available from a number of business premises with a downloadable version on our website. We would like to thank all our local sponsors for their support and advertising, that help to make this happen: Efes Premium, Bombay Delight, Wagamama, The Golf Groove, Bebeto and Sticks’n’Sushi.
The team at Love Wimbledon has been working tirelessly, with preparation for the Summer of Sport having started many months ago. In conjunction with the Met police, we ran SCaN training (See, Check and Notify) for customer-facing businesses to identify what to look out for in the event of suspicious and threatening activity. In addition to our regular monthly cleaning contract dealing with grot spots and graffiti removal, we arranged three dedicated nights last week of pavement deep cleans, to ensure the many visitors arriving at Wimbledon Station get the best possible experience.
It’s also fabulous to see so many businesses getting into the tennis spirit, with stunning window displays splashing colour and creativity across our vibrant Town Centre. A number of food and drink businesses have arranged to stay open later into the evenings too, in order to accommodate increased footfall around The Championships. And Courtside in Wimbledon Quarter is also screening all the tennis action on a 5-metre screen, under their retractable roof, with drinks and food also available.
Craig Hurring, CEO of Love Wimbledon says,
We’re really energised by the enthusiasm of our BID businesses in supporting and engaging with us to present such a strong offering across Wimbledon Town Centre this summer and beyond. It’s fantastic to see this investment from our community and such a wealth of events and experiences for all ages.
Looking ahead, we’ll be sharing some some exclusive opportunities to make the most of the Summer of Sport here in Wimbledon Town Centre – the perfect excuse to try something new! And coming up in autumn we’ll have the return of Sustainable September, collaborating with Wimbledon Quarter, Sustainable Merton and Go Inspire to bring you a range of refreshing sustainable events and activities including fashion shows, talks, repair pop-ups and the incredibly popular Sustainable Market on The Piazza.
Evolving Wimbledon will take place on 1 October at the Polka Theatre, a pioneering forum for 200 stakeholders to discuss attracting new investments, office occupiers, and enhancing the high street visitor offer, in order to ensure Wimbledon continues to thrive as a dynamic town centre for everyone. Facilitated by internationally renowned journalist and presenter, Sally Bundock, the conference will celebrate our success, how we have bucked the trends so many other town centres have experience post-pandemic, and we’ll focus on how to secure Wimbledon’s future as a premier workplace, retail, hospitality and leisure destination.