Barclays is the official banking partner at Wimbledon. The relationship between the bank and the world's most prestigious tennis tournament is coming under fire for serving controversial fossil fuel projects.
Game, set, match, championship: For tennis fans around the world, the best days of the year are about to begin. Starting today, the international tennis elite converges on London for the world's oldest tournament, being held for the 136th time this year. The best grass court players will be crowned on the hallowed sod of Wimbledon. In the tennis world, there is no more prestigious title than winning Wimbledon.
At the forefront is the major British bank Barclays, the official banking partner of Wimbledon. But celebrities from British show business see the reputation of the tournament in danger because of Wimbledon's sponsorship contract with Barclays, reportedly worth at least 20 million pounds ($25.4 million) annually.
Harsh Criticism
The multi-year partnership was announced in November when Barclays replaced rival HSBC after 15 years. The deal included the largest donation ever made by an official partner to the Wimbledon Foundation, the official charity of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and «The Championships,» according to reports at the time.
Celebrities openly criticizing the partnership include actress and Oscar winner Emma Thompson and Richard Curtis, who wrote the screenplays for hit movies like «Four Weddings and a Funeral,» «Notting Hill» and «Bridget Jones,» among others. Environmental organizations such as Greenpeace UK and some British parliamentarians also support the campaign.
Profiting from Climate Chaos
In an open letter to Sally Bolton, chief executive of AELTC, the campaigners call on Wimbledon to end its partnership with Barclays because of the bank's multi-billion pound support for fossil fuel projects.
The letter stated that simply put, «Barclays is financing and profiting from climate chaos, and accepting a sponsorship deal from them is an endorsement of these actions,» according to «The Guardian.»
The signatories argue the contract is incompatible with Wimbledon's cultural heritage and environmental policies.
Greenwashing Allegations
The AELTC announced a series of sustainability measures in recent years, setting ambitious goals to mitigate the climate crisis. Critics of the Barclays deal accuse the club of greenwashing, criticizing Barclays for lending more than $38 billion to oil and gas companies in the past two years, including Exxon Mobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies.
According to figures from April's Banking on Climate Chaos report, Barclays is Europe's largest fossil fuel lender, with over $190 billion lent to the industry since the 2016 Paris climate agreement. Unlike industry HSBC and Lloyds, activists say Barclays failed to exclude direct financing for new oil and gas projects.
A Barclays spokeswoman said the institution has set a target to reduce financed emissions in five particularly emissions-intensive sectors of its financing portfolio by 2030, including the energy sector. Since 2020, it has already achieved a 32 percent reduction in financed emissions.
