Harry Taylor at Wimbledon watching Carlos Alcaraz. (Harry Taylor via SWNS)
By Isobel Williams
Meet the pub landlord who could be Wimbledon’s biggest fan - having camped out for tickets for 33 years in a row.
Harry Taylor, 51, has pitched his tent outside the tennis tournament every year since 1992 and says he has made lifelong friends through the experience.
The dedicated fan, who owns the Red Lion Inn in Bridge, Kent, has never been deterred from attending - even through extreme weather and injury.
After three decades, he is very prepared for the event with a professional “glamping” setup and a membership to the local gym so that he can shower.
This year, Harry joined the queue 48 hours early, at around 8:30 am on Saturday (June 28).
He was number 17 in line, which gained him a Centre Court ticket for the first day.
Harry Taylor at Wimbledon. (Harry Taylor via SWNS)
Harry said yesterday (June 30): “As of this morning, there are about 6,000 people queueing. And there are more of them coming in.
“I have got a very good tent which is waterproof and windproof. It is one of the super-duper ones.
“We have got tables, chairs, and ice buckets. It is like glamping really. I have quite a professional setup.
“This is my 33rd year in the queue, so I am very experienced. I am the longest queuer left. I am the only one left who has been queuing for over 30 years, the rest are all at about 20.”
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.
Yesterday was the hottest opening day on record of the event, according to the Met Office, with temperatures hitting up to 33 degrees on the court.
Harry Taylor in line at Wimbledon in 2025. (Harry Taylor via SWNS)
This year, to combat the extreme heat staff have also been handing out free water, but Harry says that the weather has still been a tough obstacle.
However, having been towards the front of the queue, the fan managed to grab a ticket for a seat in the shaded area.
He added: “There are some years where it is raining and muddy and horrible. This year, the problem is the heat. We are in the park, and there is no shade until about 6 pm.
“It is boiling hot. We have neck fans and have been buying a lot of ice. That’s how we survive. Thank God for little gadgets or this would be impossible.
“A few people on the centre court will still faint. If you are sat opposite the umpire, you will be baking in the sun. It is only for the brave today. Everyone was trying to get in the shady bits.”
This year has been particularly difficult for the dedicated queuer, as he has been suffering from the painful condition sciatica - meaning he can barely move his legs.
Harry Taylor at Wimbledon in 2025. (Harry Taylor via SWNS)
Despite the health problems, Harry says he never considered backing out of this tradition.
The organisers have helped him by offering to take him from one side to the other in a buggy, which he says was a huge relief.
Harry said: “I have been in pain for about two months, but I thought ‘I must do the queue.’ I am hobbling on one leg in incredible pain, but for the experience, I have to suffer it.
“I thought even if I had to get a wheelchair, I would make it. There was no way I wasn’t going to come.”
The queuers have become quite a community, with Harry saying that he has met some of his best friends in the queue and that they all have a group chat to discuss the games.
His friends from the queue usually don’t all go in on the same days, so they look after each other’s luggage.
Harry Taylor in the Wimbledon queue. (Harry Taylor via SWNS)
The fan himself only goes in every other day so that he can always be towards the front of the queue.
On why he loves the tournament so much, 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.”
Harry’s favourite player is Carlos Alcaraz, who will be trying to defend his title this year after his victory against Novak Djokovic.
