The Wimbledon Tennis Championship is the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. This year BloomsArt is taking part in the colourful preparations as floral specialists tasked with transforming a number of venues such as pubs, bars and restaurants in Wimbledon village with beautiful floral garlands, archways and arrangements. The beautiful floral decorations will be in the Championship colours of purple, white and green. To add to the fun, many of the BloomsArt floral decorations will be garnished with tennis balls.
It is the perfect Wimbledon Tennis Championship for BloomsArt to get involved as the 2024 theme is ‘Tennis in the English Garden’. The design for the posters advertising the event was commissioned from British illustrator Bella Grace. Her design features the Championship’s iconic trophies surrounded by tennis motifs and 14 signature flowers.
There is a flower for each of the 14 days of the Championship and these are entwined with the motifs such as agapanthus with tennis racquets, hydrangea with score cards and tennis nets with roses.
Staff at BloomsArt have been busty preparing their stunning floral decorations for many weeks and will soon be installing them in the various venues, as the Championship will take place 1-14 July.
A brief history of Wimbledon
A tennis championship was first played at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London in 1877. It started as a men's singles championship and later addedwomen 39;s singles in 1884, men's doubles in 1879, and women's doubles in 1913. Mixed doubles were introduced the same year. Wheelchair tennis was first added to Wimbledon in 2016, making it the last of the four Grand Slam tournaments to include wheelchair tennis events.
Wimbledon has always been played at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London. While other Grand Slam tournaments have shifted locations over the years, Wimbledon has remained at its original venue - but has enlarged tremendously.
Court No 1 – ‘Centre Court’ alone, has seating for 11,500 spectators.
There are 128 players taking part in each of the men 39;s and women 39;s singles competitions, 64 teams in the men 39;s and women 39;s doubles competitions and 48 teams in the mixed doubles competition. In the Wimbledon Wheelchair Tennis Championships, there are 72 players; including 20 players each in the men's and women's singles events, and 16 teams in the men 39;s, women 39;s and quad doubles events.
Wimbledon traditions
Over the years, Wimbledon has evolved into one of the most famous sporting events in the world and is known for its many traditions. These include a strict dress code (players must wear predominantly white attire) and the grass court surface used for all its courts and which is unique among the Grand Slam tournaments. There are 20 courts at Wimbledon and the grass on each is cut to a height of 8mm – precisely. It is traditional for spectators to eat strawberries and cream whilst at Wimbledon and each year, nearly 192,000 portions are enjoyed during the Wimbledon fortnight. The strawberries are produced by a single farm in Kent where 80 pickers start work before dawn to harvest 100,000 strawberries for each day of the Championship.
The organisers of Wimbledon have many precise rules to ensure that the event goes well and that each player is given the same opportunities to excel. Tennis balls for example, are kept in tip top condition. The bright yellow balls are replaced every seven- nine games and stored in refrigerators! An amazing 54,000 tennis balls are needed for the two-week Championship. Rufus their Harris Hawk can often be seen flying high above the grounds each morning as his job is to deter pigeons. He has completed this important task annually for the past ten years.
2024 - the largest Wimbledon ever.
Applications to the Public Ballot for tickets has reached an all time high this year. Spectators will be travelling to Wimbledon from all over the UK, France, Spain and other parts of Europe, as well as the United States and Japan. Prior to the pandemic, the number of spectators travelling to Wimbledon was 500,000 and this is likely to be topped this year. Many millions more watch the fortnight of tennis on television – making the
Wimbledon Tennis Championship one of the most-watched sporting events in the world.
Wimbledon holds a unique place in the history of tennis and continues to be a highlight of the tennis calendar, attracting both players and fans from around the world. The matches are spectacular and spectators marvel at the speed and accuracy with which players serve countless aces.
For staff at BloomsArt it is an exciting opportunity to create beautiful artificial floral arrangements to install in ‘Wimbledon Village’ that can be enjoyed by all the players and coaches and that will perfectly emphasise the 2024 theme ‘tennis in the English garden’.