Protesters target Wimbledon over Barclays sponsorship links to arms firms
Pro-Palestinian campaigners have staged a protest outside the Wimbledon tennis championships over Barclaysโ sponsorship, accusing the bank of complicity in alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Around two dozen demonstrators from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) gathered outside the main gates of the All England Club on Monday morning, just yards away from Centre Court.
They chanted: โBarclays bank, you canโt hide, we charge you with genocide,โ and held banners criticising the bankโs alleged investments in defence companies linked to the Israeli military.
Damian McCarthy, 53, a lawyer and organiser with the PSC, told the PA news agency: โIโm a local resident โ and a lot of people in Wimbledon think the genocide in Gaza is appalling.
โWe want to raise awareness. Barclaysโ investment in genocide is wrong.
โItโs not about Wimbledon, itโs not about tennis, itโs about the investment in genocide, and weโve got to stop it.โ
An artist taking part in the protest unveiled an installation in memory of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old girl killed in Gaza in January 2024 after her familyโs car was hit by an Israeli tank shell.
Barclays has been contacted for comment.
