How Wimbledon came up with the idea of ​​insuring themselves against a pandemic

• Wimbledon organizers announced the cancellation of the 2020 edition on Wednesday due to the Covid-19 coronavirus epidemic.
• A radical decision but which should not put in great difficulty the tournament which would have taken out cancellation insurance a few years ago with a special clause "pandemic". An exception in the world of sport.
• If for the moment Roland Garros has simply been postponed, is the French Grand Slam assured? Doubt remains today

It's unprecedented. For the first time since the Second World War, a Grand Slam tournament is canceled: Wimbledon will therefore not take place this year. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the organizer of the prestigious grass tournament, formalized on Wednesday its outright cancellation of the 2020 edition which was to be held from June 29 to July 12. "The top priority in our minds has been the health and safety of everyone who comes together for Wimbledon to take place and with the likelihood that government action will continue for several months, we believe we must act responsibly to protect the large number of people. The 134th edition of the tournament will take place from June 28 to July 11, 2021, ”he said.

It is with great regret that the AELTC has today decided that The Championships 2020 will be canceled due to public health concerns linked to the coronavirus epidemic.

The 134th Championships will instead be staged from 28 June to 11 July 2021.https: //t.co/c0QV2ymGAt

No postponement like Roland Garros but a cancellation. Why ? First of all, because the British Grand Slam takes place on grass, it is therefore difficult to imagine Djokovic, Federer and co on the Center Court in full autonomy. It could end in a mud bath. On this point, the clay leaves more room. But if Wimbledon allows itself a blank year, it would also be due to very provident insurance. While it’s panic on board for just about every sports club accountant in the world right now, the tour

oi Anglais would have taken out cancellation insurance with a special “pandemic” clause according to several British media, including the Telegraph . A salutary initiative confirmed by Dick Hordorff, the vice-president of the International Federation, to a German media: “Wimbleon is the only Grand Slam to have seen far enough in the future to insure itself against the threat of a global pandemic. So the financial damage should be minimal. ”

No matter the price for the British

The Daily Mail even specifies that it would cover up to 250 million pounds of losses (282 million euros). All this knowing that the turnover of the Grand Slam has been in the same waters for a few years. The financial consequences of this cancellation would ultimately be limited to a drop in income from merchandising and food consumption: “It is very much in British culture to have taken out this insurance, if this is indeed the case. They have a real culture of anticipation and pragmatism, because no matter what happens, for them the business must continue or in any case we must not lose money ", explains a specialist City financier in investments in sport. And above all, no matter the price! Wimbledon's would be seven digits.

All England Club's prescience in insuring against global pandemic means the 2020 Wimbledon championships can be abandoned without great financial pain, writes @simonrbriggs https://t.co/sGmXZn9q06

If they are so few to have thought about it, it is precisely because of its price: "I have never been offered this kind of insurance but in any case, it must be clear: cancellation insurance is far too much dear and rare are those who contribute… ”, recalls Jean-Baptiste Perlant who himself had to cancel the 2020 edition of his tournament, the Challenger of the Villa Primrose in Bordeaux. These insurances would represent 1 to 2% of event budgets, according to Laurent Cellot, broker and director of Sports and Leisure at Gras Savoye Willis Towers Watson. Whoever insures the optional “bad weather” risk for Roland Garros admits that this percentage could quickly double after the crisis.

Did Roland Garros take out cancellation insurance?

So precisely, is our good old Grand Slam insured in the event of a pandemic? And especially cancellation: "I can neither deny nor confirm this information as what it would not be. I can just say that discussions on this subject are not to be excluded, "specifies Laurent Cellot, explaining that on this type of event, the insurers are numerous. He prefers to insist on the postponement decision which makes it possible “to limit the damage for the moment, since the ticketing receipts remain acquired for example. "

Still, if canceled in the coming months, the head of economic development of the FFT has already announced that it would be a shortfall of 260 million euros for the federation.

From Nadal to the Laver Cup, who will be affected by the postponement of Roland-Garros? https://t.co/7bf6lYv7cI

This situation naturally raises a question: should we insure ourselves against everything? “Above all, we have to adapt to the changing world. The question of terrorism is increasingly present, for example we were recently asked for insurance for the risk of a drone attack, "says the insurance broker. For him, it is not a question of French or British culture. For example, if Wimbledon has insurance in the event of the death of the Queen and the consequences that this would entail, the same applies in the event of the premature death of a president working in France.

The one who provides 60% of the French sports market still notes a weakness. If "80% of the organizers of one-off events take out cancellation insurance, this is not necessarily the case for clubs which work more behind closed doors". It is for this reason that the Ligue 1 and especially Top 14 clubs find themselves today with a sort of sword of Damocles on their heads. Conversely, we understand better the famous phlegm of our British neighbors and in particular of the organizers of Wimbledon today, despite an unprecedented health crisis in the world.

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• Covid 19
• Coronavirus
• Sport
• Roland Garros
• Wimbledon
• Tennis