Dame Emma has joined numerous famous faces calling out the tennis tournament (Picture: PA)
Dame Emma Thompson is among stars urging Wimbledon to remove Barclays as sponsor of the tennis competition.
The Oscar-winning actress, 64, has signed a letter to Sally Bolton, Wimbledon Chief Executive, objecting to the bank on climate change grounds.
The world-famous tournament began on Monday morning, with British hopefuls Harriet Dart and Liam Broady kicking off two weeks of tennis.
Dame Emma has signed the letter alongside Love Actually director Richard Curtis and musician Brian Eno, who accuse Barclays of ‘profiting from climate chaos’.
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden, and retail consultant and broadcaster Mary Portas have also joined the campaign.
The letter reads: ‘Barclays is financing and profiting from climate chaos, and accepting a sponsorship deal from them is an endorsement of these actions.’
Dame Emma (left) has signed the letter alongside Love Actually director Richard Curtis (middle) (Picture: WireImage)
‘We hope you will reconsider and end your partnership with Barclays,’ the letter said on behalf of those questioning Wimbledon’s decision.
Wimbledon, which also has a partnership with Rolex, announced Barclays as its official banking partner in November, taking over from HSBC.
The signatories also said Wimbledon’s partnership with what they called ‘Europe’s worst funder of fossil fuels’ was not consistent with its environmental policies.
Wimbledon begins again on Monday (July 3) (Picture: Getty)
‘Wimbledon have committed to tackling climate change, but their relationship with Barclays contradicts these claims,’ the letter continued.
‘In taking such action, you can show real climate leadership, and maintain [the tournament’s] proud position of cultural and sporting leadership.’
Earlier this year, environmental protesters caused Barclays’ annual meeting for shareholders in central London to be temporarily halted.
As for the tournament itself, fans at the famous tennis club in SW19 are concerned that it might well be a washout at Wimbledon in 2023.
Although Monday is expected to mostly be sunny, heavy rains are forecast for Tuesday morning (July 4) – hopefully that’s all the rain we get.
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The tennis competition begins on Monday.
