Which badminton tournament is widely recognized as the sport's oldest major tournament?

The All England Open is widely recognized as badminton's oldest major tournament.

Its first edition was held in 1899 at the Guildford Drill Hall in Surrey, England. The event began with doubles competitions and later expanded into the five-event format familiar today: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles.

The tournament is formally known as the All England Open Badminton Championships. Its long history helped make the phrase “All England” especially prestigious, although winning it is not the same as winning the world championship or an Olympic title.

A common mix-up is to treat the Thomas Cup or Uber Cup as older. Those are important international team competitions, but the Thomas Cup began in 1948–49 and the Uber Cup in 1956–57. The All England has remained a prominent event on the international calendar and is part of badminton's historic tournament tradition.