Nothing says celebrate like bright-colored confetti, except when it’s tossed in protest at Wimbledon and brings a couple of matches to a halt. Then it’s very much a nuisance.



That’s how Wednesday unfolded at the All England Club in London as one of the most recognized <a href="https://www.on3.com/pro/news/roger-federer-spotted-flying-economy-video-tennis-wimbledon-goat/">sporting events in the world</a> kicks off its first week. Protestors targeted two matches. The first was between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro on court 18. Then protestors interrupted a match between Katie Boulter, the top-ranked player in Great Britain, and Daria Saville.



The protestors belong to an environmental group called Just Stop Oil. Wimbledon hasn’t been their only target this year. They’ve also been active at the rugby Premiership final and the World Snooker Championship. Their most recent act was a disruption last week of the Ashes Test, a cricket match between England and Australia. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/66041547" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According to the BBC</a>, the group wants the British government to stop all new oil gas and coal projects. 



They protested by tossing metallic orange confetti. And they also threw blue-colored puzzle pieces. Coincidentally, the puzzle pieces were from a Wimbledon souvenir jigsaw puzzle of Center Court. The protestors also used the puzzle boxes to hide the confetti. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://on3static.com/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2023/07/05121930/wimbledon-protests-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1658317" srcset="https://on3static.com/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2023/07/05121930/wimbledon-protests-2.jpg 1024w, https://on3static.com/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2023/07/05121930/wimbledon-protests-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://on3static.com/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2023/07/05121930/wimbledon-protests-2-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>A Just Stop Oil demonstrator throws orange confetti for the group’s second protest, Wednesday, at Wimbledon. (GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



<h2 id="h-wimbledon-protests-featured-environmentally-friendly-confetti">Wimbledon protests featured ‘environmentally-friendly’ confetti</h2>



A spokesperson for Just Stop Oil issued a statement to the media saying that the protestors used “environmentally friendly orange confetti glitter and jigsaw pieces.” The statement also said that play was “briefly delayed” while Wimbledon crews, using leaf blowers, cleaned the courts. Then the rains came. 



Wimbledon had beefed up security earlier this week to the point that there were lengthy delays getting in on Monday. Security checked for all sorts of items, including chalk.



The social media account The Tennis Letter tweeted: “Protestors jumped onto court 18 and disrupted Dimitrov vs Shimabukuro at Wimbledon They threw a jigsaw puzzle & confetti. This is disappointing to say the least. This isn’t activism. This is just odd.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Protestors jumped onto court 18 & disrupted Dimitrov vs Shimabukuro at Wimbledon They threw a jigsaw puzzle & confetti. This is disappointing to say the least. This isn’t activism. This is just odd. <a href="https://t.co/820YCZhmSv">pic.twitter.com/820YCZhmSv</a>— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTennisLetter/status/1676583355553570816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Wimbledon <a href="https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/37963152/just-stop-oil-protesters-disrupt-wimbledon-match-court-18" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">issued a statement to the media</a> with an update.



“Following an incident on Court 18, two individuals have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage and these individuals have now been removed from the Grounds.



“Play on the court was temporarily paused and, following a suspension in play due to a rain delay, play is about to resume.”

wimbledon protests

On3 Pros

5GOATs

Protestors storm Wimbledon court, launch confetti

team image

Pro News

NFL News

NFL Draft News

NASCAR

NBA News

NBA Draft News

Culture

Sports Betting

About

Football

Basketball

Women's Basketball

Softball

Baseball

Alabama

Arizona State

Arizona

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Boston College

California

Removed

Clemson

Colorado

Duke

Florida

Florida State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

Lettermen Row

Lettermen Lounge

Louisville

Maryland

Miami

Michigan State

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi State

Missouri

NC State

Nebraska

North Carolina

Northwestern

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

The Main Board

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Rutgers

South Carolina

Stanford

Syracuse

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Texas

Texas Tech

UCLA

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

West Virginia

Wisconsin

BamaOnLine

BOL Round Table

Inside Texas

IT Members Only

DawgsHQ

Dawg Walk

Scoop Duck

Recruiting & Sports

AuburnSports

The Corner

WeAreSC

GarryP's Trojan Huddle

The Wolverine

The Fort

The Lions Den

The Wolfpacker

The Wolves’ Den

GatorsOnline

Swamp Talk

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Albany

Alcorn State

Abilene Christian

Appalachian State

Akron

Army

Austin Peay

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas-Little Rock

Arkansas State

Air Force

Ball State

American

Wofford

Winthrop

Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wichita State

Western Carolina

Volleyball

Gymnastics

Men's Lacrosse

Women's Lacrosse

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

Women's Track

Men's Golf

Women's Golf

Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey

Men's Swimming

Women's Swimming

Wrestling

Men's Tennis

Women's Tennis

Annual $1

Annual Premium

Annual $1 

Monthly

Annual

Unlimited Access to This and All Articles.

Article (On3 Plus Rivals)

Forum (On3 Plus Rivals)

Intro

Join

College scoop, experts, and community - all in one.

Winback

Headed to the ACC

Damon Wilson

Next court date set

Sherrone Moore

Stories that will shape 2026

Looking ahead

Miami trending for QB, WR

Transfer Portal Intel

Top CFB players for 2026

Way Too Early Top 100