The first time I did the Wimbledon queue 10 years ago my friends and I were stunned by the thousands of people already placed into neat lines inside Wimbledon Park by 6am.
We were ill-prepared – naive to the point of forgetting sun cream – and on a blisteringly hot day one friend was napping in the shade near Court 18 by the early afternoon.
Play had started on the outside courts at 11am, but more than 5,000 people deep into the Wimbledon queue, we did not make it into the grounds until after midday – a wait I had not anticipated.
This is the reality of the Wimbledon queue, and having covered the tournament ever since for The i Paper, I have witnessed – from a distance – its rise in popularity thanks to a social media boom.
So is there a way of hacking the Wimbledon queue? What are the absolute essentials? And how can you guarantee tickets on Centre Court by queuing?
