1996 Wimbledon
| 1996 Wimbledon Championships | |
|---|---|
| Date | 24 June - 7 July |
| Edition | 110th |
| Category | Grand Slam (ITF) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Location | Church Road SW19, Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom |
| Champions | |
| Men's Singles | |
 Richard Krajicek
|
|
| Women's Singles | |
 Steffi Graf
|
|
| Men's Doubles | |
 Todd Woodbridge / Mark Woodforde
|
|
| Women's Doubles | |
 Martina Hingis /  Helena Suková
|
|
| Mixed Doubles | |
|
Helena Suková / Cyril Suk
|
|
| Boys' Singles | |
 Vladimir Voltchkov
|
|
| Girls' Singles | |
 Amélie Mauresmo
|
|
| Boys' Doubles | |
 Daniele Bracciali /  Jocelyn Robichaud
|
|
| Girls' Doubles | |
|
Olga Barabanschikova / Amélie Mauresmo
|
|
| Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles | |
 Wojciech Fibak /  Tim Wilkison
|
|
| Ladies' Invitation Doubles | |
 Jo Durie / Anne Smith
|
|
| Senior Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles | |
|
John Alexander / Sherwood Stewart
|
|
The 1996 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon in London in England. It was the 110th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and was held from 24 June to 7 July 1996.
When rain interrupted play on Centre Court on 3 July with a crowd that included Prince Michael of Kent, Princess Michael of Kent and actress Joanna Lumley,Cliff Richard, who was watching from the royal box, was approached by court officials for an interview. They suggested that he sing a song or two to entertain the crowd. With approval from his PR manager Richard proceeded to give an impromptu performance, starting with Singin' in the Rain.
The performance ran for twenty minutes and consisted of Richard's hits such as Living Doll and Congratulations, as well as the Elvis Presley hit "All Shook Up". Past tennis stars Virginia Wade, Martina Navratilova, Hana Mandlíková, Pam Shriver, Liz Smylie, Gigi Fernández and Conchita Martínez were in the Royal Box and proceeded to join in as background singers.
Richard was not aware that his performance was televised by the BBC, and after six songs presenter Des Lynam jokingly claimed "we'll probably get one hell of a bill." The performance made the front pages in many major British newspapers on the following day. Since a retractable roof was completed on Centre Court in 2009 such a performance is unlikely to happen again.
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Wikipedia