Merton Becomes Murrayton!


Borough renamed in honour of tennis champ

There's a new borough in London today, as Merton Council is renamed the 'London Borough of Murrayton' to mark Andy Murray’s historic Wimbledon win.

Visitors to the civic centre will be welcomed to the 'London Borough of Murrayton', the host borough to the world famous Wimbledon Tennis Championships which sees more than 500,000 tennis fans visit London's most famous postcode, SW19, every year.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Alambritis (right), said: "As home to the Wimbledon Championships we want to show our appreciation and congratulate Andy Murray for being the first Wimbledon men's singles champion for 77 years - naming ourselves 'Murrayton' for a day is a fitting way to do that.

"We are proud of our connection with the All England Club which we support every year to put on the most famous tennis tournament in the world. Being home to Wimbledon has also had a positive impact on our children with local school, Bishop Gilpin, winning the Mini Tennis at the London Youth Games last week.

"Last month, we won Best Achieving Council in the country. Now we are proud to welcome people to the London Borough of Murrayton, the home of one of the great British sporting moments of all time."

Murray's impressive win was also enjoyed by more than 1,500 people watching the action on a big screen on The Piazza in Wimbledon town centre (right).

Love Wimbledon, the Business Improvement District (BID), lawned The Piazza, provided deckchairs for viewers, and screened tennis live into town every day during the tournament.

Helen Clark Bell, BID Manager, said: "We had hundreds of people sharing the finals' atmosphere in the heart of Wimbledon town centre.

"It's the first time ever our town has celebrated the event and what's made it so great is Murray was in the final. The audience have been amazing, we have had men in kilts, people bringing their own chairs and one of the most vibrant events ever in Wimbledon."

Residents and workers in Wimbledon have celebrated with the many tennis goers this year. Although Big Screen tennis is not a new idea in the UK, the key to this event was having it in Wimbledon town itself.

It provided a link with the championships and a highly successful community event. During the week the screen has attracted around 200-300 people for the initial matches from office workers to families and the semi attracted around 600 persons.

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July 10, 2013