As a means to protect against any would-be terrorist attacks for the Wimbledon Grand Slam, the All England Club will see an unprecedented amount of armed police protection this year, per Global Times.
“With security fears high in the aftermath of the attempted terrorist attacks in Paris in November, Wimbledon will be patrolled by officers with guns inside and outside the famous arena in southwest London.”
Additionally, there will be more private security employed for the tournament as more than 500,000 are expected to flood the venue during the course of the event.
“There will be more security in place than before. A level of armed police will be in evidence,” a Wimbledon spokesperson told The Times on Tuesday. “The level of security and policing is commensurate with the threat and multilayered, and it has been heightened as you would expect with everything that has been going on.”
Round 1 kicks off on Monday, June 27 and runs through July 10.
Novak Djokovic is the heavy favorite to win on the men’s side, having won an astonishing seven of the last eight Grand Slam events and four in a row dating back to last year’s Wimbledon.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams is also a heavy favorite, to nobody’s surprise. She has made the finals in the last two Grand Slams but hasn’t won one of these events since last year’s Wimbledon.