Every year, thousands of visitors flock to Wimbledon – hundreds of thousands, in fact. During the two weeks of the 2017 championship, almost half a million people attended this illustrious tennis event.

Visitors are usually faced with long queues and lots of waiting. Some arrive days in advance, sleeping in tents, while waiting for the gates to open.

As Chief Steward of the Honorary Stewards Association, it falls on Nick Pearce to coordinate welcome and greeting efforts.

While sipping on a refreshing Iced Mocha, Nick tells us that there are about 200 stewards on his team, each working hard to make the long waits more bearable for the public. “We have to make sure they receive a warm, friendly welcome.”

At times, the sheer amount of visitors makes swift access to the grounds almost impossible. “A lot of people stand in queues for a long time, waiting to get in,” Nick says.

But he believes that this very queue might be one of the elements that make the Wimbledon experience so distinctive. And it’s thanks to, he says, “All those people that come the day before, queue overnight, spend all those hours in a tent.”

As it often happens, a brief but genuine friendship blossoms between Nick’s team and these tennis fans.

“We often get a lot of Australians,” he says with a smile, “and they’re always up for a bit of banter.”