Protestors Run Onto Field During Wimbeldon Match to Throw Jigsaw Puzzle, Confetti
By Liam McKeone
On Wednesday, Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro were playing their first-round match at Wimbledon when they were interrupted by protestors. Two individuals representing the "Just Stop Oil" movement sprinted onto the court and threw confetti all over the place before sitting down. They also threw a jigsaw puzzle, for some reason.
The crowd booed them enthusiastically.
Just Stop Oil protesters just disrupted a Wimbledon match by running out onto the grass and throwing orange confetti. The broadcast immediately cuts away. pic.twitter.com/lms74tKeGT
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) July 5, 2023
The BBC broadcast had a bit of fun with the interruption.
Just Stop Oil use a jigsaw and confetti to halt play on Court 18 at #Wimbledon @BBCSport pic.twitter.com/cdgbD9ZiMe
— Sanny Rudravajhala 📻📺📝 (@SannyR1985) July 5, 2023
Getty captured some photos of the protestors.
And here's the cleanup effort:
This is not the first time Just Stop Oil has protested during a sporting event recently; they threw powder at the World Snooker Championship and a cricket tournament in the last three months. They are protesting Wimbledon due to a sponsorship deal with Barclays, which has ties to oil giants around the world.
And they may not be done yet. There are still a lot of matches yet to be played.