The All England Open Badminton Championships, or simply All England, is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious badminton tournaments. Played annually, it developed after the success of the world’s first badminton tournament held in Guildford in 1898. The tournament was successfully organised on April 4, 1899, however only three categories (Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles) were originally staged. Both Men’s and Women’s Singles were added the following year. The first three tournaments were named “The Open English Championships”. It was eventually considered (especially after the first Thomas Cup series in 1949) the unofficial world championship of the sport until 1977 when the International Badminton Federation launched its official championships. The tournaments were halted twice: during World War I from 1915 to 1919 and World War II from 1940 to 1946