BBC Waive Licence Requirement for Royal Wedding

The BBC has graciously decided to waive the requirement for a TV licence for community venues showing next week's Royal Wedding.

Village halls and community centres that do not already have a TV Licence will not be compelled to buy one to show the wedding next Friday.

A press release on the TV Licensing website explains: "The BBC has decided to offer local communities a special, one-off dispensation to mark the Royal Wedding on 29 April 2011.  This allows communities organising celebratory events and parties in premises such as town halls, community centres and streets across Britain, where TV is not usually watched, to screen the Royal Wedding live without needing to purchase an additional licence to do so.

"By law, and in normal circumstance, if live television is viewed on any premises, these premises must be covered by a valid TV Licence.  It is the property, rather than the television, that is licensed, so a separate licence would be needed if people were to use their TV sets/equipment to screen live TV at a different place to the licensed address.

"However, in exceptional circumstances, the BBC can grant a dispensation for the temporary use of TV sets away from the licensed address, so long as the TV is being used for the sole purpose of screening an event that is judged by the BBC to be of national importance.  As the Royal Wedding is the marriage of the future heir to the throne and the day has been declared a national holiday, the BBC considers that the Royal Wedding is such an event."

Village halls across the land I urge you to take up the BBC's offer of showing the wedding licence-free.