Pro-Palestine demonstration outside Wimbledon on first day of tennis Championships

The demonstration, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, saw about 100 protesters stand outside the main entrance to protest against Barclays’ sponsorship of the event.

The demonstrators used strawberries — the fruit linked to Wimbledon — to represent blood. One banner read: “Wimbledon strawberries tainted with Palestinian blood, courtesy of Barclays.”

They also set up a giant tennis ball with the words “Barclays sponsors Wimbledon and genocide” written on it.

There were also flags and protests outside Southfields London Underground station.

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Lewis Backon, 28, from London, a spokesman for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said Barclays was financing companies supplying weapons to Israel.

“The official partner of Wimbledon is Barclays Bank, and Barclays is financing, to the tune of billions of pounds, companies supplying weapons and military technology that Israel is using in its genocidal assault on Palestinians in Gaza,” he said.

He said Barclays “can’t hide” from its role in the conflict.

“You can’t use tennis as a shield to improve your reputation and to hide from accountability for your role in financing Israel’s genocide and apartheid against Palestinians,” he added.

Last year, film stars and celebrities, including Dame Emma Thompson, called on Wimbledon to end the sponsorship deal with Barclays.

A statement from Barclays, which became Wimbledon’s official banking partner at the start of 2023, read: “We are proud of our partnership with Wimbledon which supports the growth of the championships and opportunities for young people across the UK through the Wimbledon Foundation.

“Like many other banks, we provide financial services to companies supplying defence products to the UK, NATO and its allies.”

A spokesperson for the All England Club said: “Barclays is an important partner of ours and we are working closely with them in a number of areas, including through our Set for Success programme, which is helping to support disadvantaged secondary students in schools across the UK.

“As a result of Barclays’ support this programme has expanded from 19 to 42 secondary schools across the UK, enabling more young people to gain confidence and build leadership skills to improve their future opportunities in life.”