Back

Olympic themed exhibition opeining at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum

  • 20 Jan 2012

Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum is thrilled to announce the Spring opening of a new Olympic themed exhibition; with the 30th Olympiad tennis tournament being held at Wimbledon this summer, visitors can experience this exceptional exhibition in anticipation of the Games.

Highlights of inspiring tennis moments from fourteen previous Olympic Games will be featured. There will be an array of fascinating memorabilia on display, including Olympic medals and badges, certificates and diplomas, clothing, programmes, and souvenirs to name but a few. This will be an unmissable opportunity for visitors to view such a unique collection and will be sure to ignite the spirit of the 2012 Games in tennis fans.

As well as sharing these items of visual historic significance, the Museum intends to tell the story of tennis’s incorporation into the Olympics and the heroes that make up the past medal winners. Champions in the lineup are John Boland of Dublin, the first Olympic Tennis Champion not only in Gentlemen’s Singles but also Gentlemen’s Doubles; Titanic survivor Richard Williams and Hazel Wightman, winner’s of the 1924 Mixed Doubles; and Steffi Graf with her ‘Golden Slam’ in 1988 at Seoul.

“With the Museum drawing on such a vast and impressive collection of memorabilia and history, the exhibition is sure to impress and we look forward to welcoming visitors to share in the excitement of the build up to the 2012 Games’ commented Ashley Jones, Commercial Manager of the Museum.

To support the exhibition, Alan Little, the Museum’s Honorary Librarian has also written a book on the story of tennis at the Olympic Games and this is now available from the Museum Shop.

The Olympic tournament will be held on the lawns of Wimbledon for nine days from Saturday 28th July to Sunday August 5th of 2012. In fact, this will be the second time The All England Lawn Tennis Club has hosted the event. The first was back to 1908, and was played at the old Club ground in Worple Road.

Competing for the Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ Singles gold medal will be 64 men and 64 women, while 32 teams will enter each doubles event. After 88 years the Olympics has reintroduced Mixed Doubles back into the Games and Wimbledon is excited to be the first to host this competition since 1924. Record attendance is expected, with the greatest tennis stars from around the world coming to represent their home countries.

WLTM combines state-of-the-art interactive touch screens with its unparalleled collection of traditional and contemporary tennis memorabilia, all exploring the story of the game and the Wimbledon Championships, from past to present, in a vibrant and entertaining way.

Notes to Editors:

1. Booking is essential for the Tour.

2. Images are available on request.

3. Each group must have a minimum of 15 persons

4. One free of charge for every 20 persons paying

5. There is no viewing of Centre Court from 13 June to 8 July 2011

Opening Hours

Open: Throughout the year, daily: 10.00am-5.00pm.

Closed: The Museum is closed the 19 & 26 June, 4/5 July (Unless the tournament overruns), 24, 25, 26 December and 1 January 2012

Admission: Museum and Tour prices (valid from 1st January 2011 to 31 March 2012)

For more information contact:

About VisitBritain
• Americans made 2.7 million visits to the UK in 2010 and spent US $3.2 billion (GBP £2.1 billion) – placing them in the UK’s top three most important markets for visitors. Britain remains Americans’ favorite long-haul destination. The US remains top spot in terms of market value for inbound tourism.
• VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, is responsible for inspiring the world to explore Britain and for developing the UK’s visitor economy.
• Visitors traveling to Britain can find out more information from visitbritain.us plus purchase money and time saving local transport, sightseeing, attraction, theatre and tour tickets from visitbritainshop.us.
• Follow us on Twitter @VisitBritain and Facebook: LoveUK & LoveUK Film & TV