By Isobel Williams via SWNS
Meet Wimbledon’s most committed queuer – a pub landlord who has camped out for a ticket for the past 32 YEARS.
Harry Taylor, 50, first pitched up for the Championships in 1992 – and says he has loved every second since.
The dedicated fan – who owns the Red Lion Inn in Bridge, Kent – thinks the queuing system has changed a lot in the past three decades.
But the tennis lover added that it has always been worth braving the English weather to get in – and he’s met some of his best friends in the famous queue.
He said: “There are loads of tennis tournaments in the world, but Wimbledon is the greatest. If you don’t win Wimbledon, then you are nobody.
“It is the greatest tournament, you just have to go. Everyone is excited, the players are excited, we in the queue are excited.
“It is incredible. The experience is hard to describe but it is one of the few places in the world where you can come and enjoy a tennis match for not too expensive a price, so anyone can come.
“I would never go camping to save my life, I only do it for Wimbledon.
“The weather can be tricky, but the camping has gotten a lot better over the years.
“If you have a waterproof tent and the right clothing it is actually not so bad.”
Harry, who now lives in Kent is very dedicated to his queuing, even registering for a postal vote in the upcoming election so he doesn’t miss anything – and signing up for a local gym membership so that he can shower.
In terms of standout matches he named Andy Murray vs Richard Gasquet in 2008, and tense moments watching Roger Federer almost lose only to pull it back at the last second.
Harry says that he has met some of his best friends in the queue and that they all have a group chat to discuss the games.
He added: “There are thousands of people in the queue, and some of them are my closest friends of more than twenty years that I met doing this.
“They come from all over the world. Some are from Australia, others from America and Belgium.
“The people who queue are all amazing.”
Harry claims that he is now the longest queuer after the previous reigning queue queen who started in 1990, tragically passed away during the pandemic.
As the longest and most legendary queuer he says that people are even asking for his autograph.
The tournament’s organizers are now used to having thousands of campers every year and have begun providing them with loos that are “better than Glastonbury toilets.”
The queue has also added numbered cards so people can’t jump the line, stewards checking the tents, phone chargers, and food stalls set up to feed them—all of which Mr Taylor says has hugely improved the experience.
He said: “The queue is very well organized. We have our tents, blow up beds, tables and chairs. It is like glamping really.
“I have to give Wimbledon credit they do amazing, they have made so many changes over the years since 1992 when I started camping on the road on a hard service.
“Years ago, when you joined the queue you could show up at seven or eight o’clock in the evening and the next morning you would get center court. But it doesn’t happen like that anymore, unfortunately, now you have to queue for two nights.
“The queue has gotten bigger and bigger every year with people coming from all around the world.”
Mr Taylor, who used to play tennis himself at a club level, said he always takes a few of his pub employees with him to the tournament, but was unable to this year due to post-Brexit staff shortages.
However, many ex-employees have been inspired to come join him in the queue having loved it so much when he brought them.
