In March 2020, the World Snooker Championship was rescheduled from April to 31 July – 16 August, in the hope that government restrictions would have eased enough to permit an international sporting event to take place.
All current indications are that the postponed event will go ahead, with the exception of 16 players from China, Thailand, and Hong Kong, who have cited foreign travel safety concerns as their reason for not attending.
The championships will take place at the traditional and iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. For most players, the assumption is that it will take place behind closed doors with no spectators, but World Snooker Tour (WST) chairman Barry Hearn advised he has not given up on fans attending.
Hearn said: “Detailed discussions with the relevant organisations are ongoing and we are determined to explore every avenue. We realise that to attend the Betfred World Championship is a once in a lifetime experience for many fans, and for everyone in the arena it is a magical occasion.”
“The highest priority of course is the health and safety of fans and everyone connected with the event, so spectators will only be allowed if we are confident that this priority can be met. But we are working hard towards making this happen if it is possible.”
Whilst new ticket sales for the event are closed, WST have contacted existing ticket holders to ask them whether they would like to:
- Attend this year’s event with a reduced capacity, or
- Transfer their ticket to the 2021 event, or
- Receive a refund
World Snooker described this as an “unparalleled opportunity to be among the few fans present in the arena for one of the great events in sport”, and Hearn added “This would be a golden ticket, for the very lucky few…”.
Snooker has already hosted two events in June 2020 behind closed doors. If crowds are allowed to attend the World Snooker Championship, it would be the first for a UK sports event since government restrictions were imposed in March.