Mr D Bird 
Via email: [FOI #13910 email]   
 
 
29 July 2009 
 
 
Dear Mr Bird 
 
Freedom of information request – RFI20090952 
 
Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”) dated 30 June 
2009.  You requested the following information: 
 
The value of hospitality provided at Wimbledon for the benefit of BBC staff over the two weeks of 
the tournament. 
 
Copies of invoices / receipts relating to the above if these are available. 
 
List of BBC "presenting" staff offered complimentary hospitality at the Wimbledon tournament 
rather than staff working at the tournament, I am requesting details about those such as Ian Hislop 
whose presenting role does not relate to sports. 
 
Firstly, please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your request.   
 
I am assuming the question refers to hospitality provided by the BBC.  The BBC does not have details 
of hospitality provided to BBC staff by third parties. 
 
No hospitality was provided for the benefit of BBC staff over the two weeks of the tournament by 
the BBC. 
 
Financial pressures and responsibility to licence fee payers have led to changes in our approach to 
corporate hospitality in recent years. For example, even after significant reductions in spend over the 
past couple of years, we decided that the right thing for us to do as a publicly-funded organisation is 
not to offer any corporate hospitality at Wimbledon this year. 
 
 

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A list of BBC presenting staff who attended Wimbledon with complimentary tickets provided by the 
BBC is listed below. Staff and guests were not provided with any food, transport or accommodation 
by the BBC. (These tickets are included in the BBC’s broadcast rights contract for the Tournament, 
and so no additional cost to the licence fee payer was incurred): 
 
Alistair Hignall plus guest 
Jake Humphrey plus guest 
Dara O Brien plus Guest 
Michael McIntyre plus Guest 
Hardeep Singh Koli plus Guest 
Lee McKenzie 
Ore Oduba 
Lee Dixon plus guest 
John Inverdale plus guest 
Alan Davies plus Guest 
Gabby Logan plus guest 
Lesley Sharp plus Guest 
Rupert Penry Jones plus Guest 
David Morrissey plus Guest 
Adrian Chiles plus guest 
David Coulthard plus guest 
Martin Brundle plus guest 
Jake Humprhey plus guest 
Jonathan Legard plus guest 
Ted Kravitz plus guest 
 
 
Appeal Rights 
If you are not satisfied with this response you have the right to an internal review by a BBC senior 
manager or legal adviser. Please contact us at the address above, explaining what you would like us to 
review and including your reference number. If you are not satisfied with the internal review, you can 
appeal to the Information Commissioner. The contact details are:  Information Commissioner's Office, 
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone 01625 545 700 or see 
http://www.ico.gov.uk/ 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
 
Brendan Knox-Peebles, 
Head of Legal, Sport 
 
 
 
 
 

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