WIMBLEDON WELCOMES NEW AGREEMENTS

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has announced a raft of new deals and initiatives ahead of the upcoming Championships, Wimbledon, which this year will take place between Monday 3rd to Sunday 16th July.

The AELTC has launched ‘Race to Wimbledon’, a custom map within the online video game Fortnite which encourages players to run, drive, parkour and fly through a virtual London to the Wimbledon Grounds.

According to the AELTC, the project is part of a wider initiative to expand into the digital sphere, evolving the heritage brand beyond traditional expectations.

As such, Wimbledon’s entry into Fortnite is also accompanied by ‘new features on its Roblox experience WimbleWorld, a new gamified tennis app Wimbledon Smash, and a collaboration with leading mobile game Tennis Clash.’

Regarding the approach, Chris Clements, Digital Products Lead at the All England Club, said, “The magic of Wimbledon has reached many generations of fans in every corner of the world. With changes in the way people consume content and interact with sports events, it is important that we find new ways to reach them and convey what makes Wimbledon so special. We believe this range of initiatives, including Race to Wimbledon, will help us achieve this ambition.”

Irish broadcaster Premier Sports has announced a new agreement with the AELTC for coverage of the upcoming Grand Slam tournament in the Republic of Ireland.

The AELTC’s new agreement with the Viaplay-owned broadcaster will see Premier Sports dedicate both of its linear channels to Wimbledon coverage, in addition to providing three, red button court feeds for the duration of the event.

Premier Sports Founder, Michael O’Rourke, said, “Wimbledon is one of the most iconic sports events in the calendar and we’re delighted to be in a position to bring comprehensive live coverage to our audiences. With up to five separate live match feeds available daily we’ll provide real choice for tennis fans during this fantastic fortnight.”

Paul Davies, AELTC Head of Broadcast, Production and Media Rights added, “We are delighted to enter into this agreement with Premier Sports in Ireland. Their extensive coverage plans, including red button coverage, ensures fans of Wimbledon in Ireland will be well served.”

French water brand evian, a partner of the tournament since 2008, has announced the creation of a refillable system for players, as a new way to hydrate players during The Championships.

Players will be provided with their own own reusable bottles that can be refilled with evian natural mineral water, on-court and at designated player areas, including practice courts, dressing rooms and restaurants

In the same release, it was also announced that the Danone-owned water brand will continue as the the official water of the Grand Slam tennis tournament until at least 2027.

Sarah Dossett, Vice President, Marketing, Danone UK & Ireland said, “We are incredibly proud of our long-standing relationship with one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events. Together through collaboration, we are excited to pilot this new system for 2023. The development of a refill solution to deliver our evian water to players demonstrates evian’s continued commitment to innovate. Together with Wimbledon, we are continuing our journey towards our circularity ambitions.

“Danone UK & Ireland is a health focused company, determined to play a positive role in our communities. Our water brands, like evian, offer consumers a healthy hydration option in a convenient way. It is fantastic to be able to continue to showcase healthy hydration at such an iconic sporting event.”

Sally Bolton, Chief Executive at the All England Club, added, “Wimbledon remains firmly committed to becoming Environment Positive by 2030. We continue to make improvements year-on-year to reach this ambition. Throughout, we have been working together with evian to evolve and move towards delivering evian water in the most sustainable way. We are excited about this next step in our journey together and look forward to seeing how the pilot goes and the impact it could have going forward.”