The Great Wimbledon Draw

WIMBLEDON, England, June 20 /PRNewswire/ --

- With photo

Tennis star Tim Henman is used to drawing a crowd, but the British No. 1 will make Wimbledon history this year when the crowd gets to draw him.

A massive canvas will be erected outside the courts and fans queuing to enter the grounds will be offered the chance to join in and help complete a 15ft x 6ft painting of Tim playing against legendary British hero Fred Perry.

The painting, commissioned by Robinsons to mark their 70 years on Centre Court, was started by top artist Christian Furr. He has created the initial outline of Tim playing Fred Perry and the rest of the painting will be completed by the crowd.

Tim Henman, who is sponsored by Robinsons, says: "It's a fantastic honour to be a part of something like this. I love the idea that I'll be able to see myself playing one of my heroes, Fred Perry - until now I've only been able to imagine it! The fact that tennis fans at Wimbledon will be able to contribute makes it even more significant."

The massive canvas will be situated by the Wimbledon golf course where the queue lines up, giving as many fans as possible the chance to take part.

Christian Furr - the youngest artist ever to be commissioned to officially paint the Queen - will be on hand with a team of assistants to give out paints, brushes and advice throughout the tournament's opening days (Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd June) and help the queue complete the masterpiece.

Christian says: "The queue will be given sections of the canvas to work on, so it will gradually come together throughout the day - we're hoping some of the tennis players will come down and paint along side their queuing fans!

"I immediately said I wanted to be a part of it. It's a celebration of 70 years of Robinsons on centre court and will give hundreds of fans the chance to make their own bit of Wimbledon history."

Christian spent over 150 hours establishing the outline of the picture after Tim Henman spent a day sitting for him in his studios. He sketched Tim's opponent Fred Perry, after studying photographs of the 1930s winner.

The painting will be half colour and half sepia: Tim's side of the court is in colour and Fred's side is in sepia tones, with the crowd at his side dressed in typical 1930s clothing.

Robinsons is serving up a range of events to celebrate their 70 years on centre court. As well as the first ever piece of art to be created by the queuing fans, Robinsons is also offering free taxi rides to anyone who hails their specially branded cabs while Tim Henman is on court during Wimbledon fortnight.

Notes to Editors

- Robinsons Barley Water bottles first made an appearance at Wimbledon 70 years ago, and since then they have become synonymous with the world's most famous tennis tournament.

- A bottle of Robinsons has enjoyed pride of place by the umpire's chair on court during Wimbledon since it first appeared in 1935.

- In 1935, an employee called Eric Smedley Hodgeson was on site during the Wimbledon Tournament as a medical representative. Eric took iced water, fresh lemons, sugar and Robinsons barley flour and mixed them together as an experiment in the Men's changing rooms - and it became an instant hit. 250 gallons were mixed that fortnight, and Robinsons Lemon Barley Water was born.

- In 1936 Colmans of Norwich launched the first bottle of Robinsons Lemon Barley Water. It has changed little in the 70 years since then and is still considered to be one of the most refreshing soft drinks around, and the link with Wimbledon has stayed throughout the years.

- To date, production from the Norwich factory site is in excess of 350 million litres a year - and an average of 2,900,000 bottles are produced every twenty four hours.

- It has been nearly 70 years since an English tennis player won the Wimbledon Finals. Fred Perry was Wimbledon Champion 1934, 1935 and 1936.

- Fred Perry was a great fan of Robinsons Barley Water. An extract from The Daily Sketch, 4th July 1934, reads: "The men by the way have started to drink barley water to get cool. Fred Perry is devoted to it, I hear."

- 5,400 Robinsons drinks are drunk in Britain every single second.

- Robinsons can be found in over 19 million households in Great Britain.

Christian Furr

- Christian is the youngest artist to have officially painted Queen Elizabeth II. At the age of 28 he was commissioned by the Royal Overseas League in London after the Queen chose him, from a short-list of artists.

- On New Year's Eve 2000, Millennium night, he was commissioned by Channel Four to paint Johnny Vaughan and Lisa Tarbuck, live on air, for 'The Biggest Breakfast Ever'.

- Christian has exhibited extensively at shows and galleries around the world, including the National Portrait Gallery, London.

- Christian is currently 'Richard & Judy's' Celebrity Art Class resident artist.

- He has featured several times on the show on Channel 4, holding the celebrity portrait Master class, judging viewers' work and he recently previewed the current record breaking Turner, Whistler Monet exhibition at the Tate for Richard & Judy with actress/presenter Josie D'Arby.

- Christian is to be featured in Jerry Hall's new reality show 'Kept' (MTV Networks) The programme will be aired in the U.S Prime time and in the UK over the summer. Jerry Hall the sexy, sassy super model and x-Mrs. Jagger enlisted the help of Christian to teach 10 young Americans to become European sophisticates.

High resolution photographs to accompany this release are available to the media free of charge via PA Photowire and at http://www.mediapoint.press.net

SOURCE Robinsons