By CheekyClicks
The world oldest
tennis tournament – the Wimbledon is the single largest annual sporting event
in Europe. It’s not only about the tennis meeting – but the foodstuff on offer.
A total of 1 800 staff is employed, while the crowds devour about:
• 300 000 cups of tea
•
250 000 water bottles
•
32 000 portions of fish and chips
•
190 000 sandwiches
•
135 000 ice creams
Record
shattering tourney
In 2013, the overall
attendance was 486 898. The record for the number of aces served held by
Croatian Goran Ivanisevic is 212.
•
15 000 bananas are consumed –
including
•
100 000 pints of beer and lager
•
25 000 bottle of champagne
•
200 000 glasses of Pimm’s
28
tones of strawberries in a fortnight
Only the best Grade 1
Kent strawberries picked a day before serving to ensure freshness is provided.
In total – 28 tonnes of strawberries are consumed in a fortnight, translating
to at least 86 150 strawberries a day. 7 000 litres of fresh cream accompany
the fresh fruit serving as well as:
•
54 250 Slazenger balls are used
during the tournament
•
2 000 rackets are strung at the
tournament
•
65 km of racket string is used
•
The first men’s singles trophy was
presented in 1887
•
100 per cent rye grass in use since
September 2000
Meet
Rufus – the Wimbledon sky boss
Rufus the hawk has
operated the Wimbledon skies to scare away pigeons that love to flock to the
Centre Court. With his own security, the Harris hawk is job listed as “bird
scarcer.” The retractable roof, installed in 2009, takes up to 10 minutes to
close, while play is suspended.
Sometimes referred as
the Rosewater Dish or Venus Rosewater Dish, the women’s singles trophy was
initially presented in 1886. It is made of sterling silver, partly gilded and measures
48 cm in diameter. – CheekyClicks
