EVIAN will charge Wimbledon fans £5 to drink water - but not all is as it seems.
The All England Club opens its gates to the public for the 2024 Championships from Monday morning.
And if the heatwave continues into next week, fans will need to keep hydrated.
There are free mains-water fountains around the grounds to top up water bottles.
But spectators will also have the option to pay £5 for a QR code to stick on to their bottles and scan it to refill with mineral water at Evian stations.
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The Evian stations were introduced on the courts as well as in the changing rooms and club restaurants in 2023.
But now they will be dotted around the public areas for fans to make use of after purchasing the QR code - or a £25 stainless steel Evian bottle.
The idea behind the revolutionary scheme is to see whether people prefer to drink essentially tap water or cold H20 from the French Alps.
There is still a large number of people who buy bottled water in bulk at supermarkets - despite the call to stop using single-use plastic.
If the Wimbledon trial succeeds, the plan could be for Danone - who own Evian, Volvic and Harrogate Spring Water - to roll it out across other events and even in shops and pubs.
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Danone marketing director Gemma Morgan told The Times it would be "fascinating to see what the uptake is going to be".
Emma Raducanu is sponsored by Evian - and has backed the campaign.
Laura Robson, meanwhile, wants to see plastic bottles scrapped altogether at Wimbledon - with players, coaches and fans urged to use reusable bottles.
Last year, 10,000 reusable bottles were handed out to competitors - a major drop from the £2.95 750ml 114,000 plastic bottles dished out in 2022.
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Robson said: "There are all the players on the practice courts just taking a couple of sips from a water bottle and then leaving it there.
"Should there be a fine, maybe? We're joking about it, but maybe that's something that needs to happen."
