Residents in east Kent should be prepared to see an increased police presence over the coming week as the Royal St George’s Golf Club hosts The 149th Open.
The Championship, which will see players from all over the world compete for the Claret Jug will run at the Royal St George’s Golf Course in Sandwich from 11 to 18 July 2021.
Guinea Pig
The event is to be included in the government’s Event Research Programme, enabling The Open to take place with higher capacities than the current Covid-19 step three guidance.
This means crowds of up to 32,000 are expected on each of the Championship days from 15 to 18 July with less expected on the practice days from 11 to 14 July.
Keeping public and players safe
Kent Police has been working hard to ensure the public and players are kept safe during the Championship and any impact on the local community is kept to a minimum.
Assistant Chief Constable Nikki Faulconbridge said: ‘The Open is the biggest sporting event hosted in Kent this year and we want everyone to enjoy the week.
‘This has been several years in the planning, with last year’s event being cancelled due to the pandemic but we have been constantly working behind the scenes with the event organisers and local partners to ensure the event is successful but also minimises any disruption to the local community.
‘We will have a large number of trained and specialist officers at The Open with a great deal of experience of policing an event of this nature and size to ensure it is successful and the public are kept safe.’
For more information about the event, including travel information visit www.dover.gov.uk/theopen and www.visitkent.co.uk/whats-on/the-149th-open and follow #OpenTravel and #TheOpen on Twitter.