3041 valid entries were entered into the public ballot. A separate ballot for family members who lost loved-ones in Iraq attracted 28 entries. Each bereaved families could apply for two tickets with 52 seats ultimately being requested. The ballot resulted in 22 of the 28 bereaved families having access to the hearing room on the day.
There are sixty seats in the hearing room, with two thirds allocated to the public for the Tony Blair hearing and the other third reserved for family members. Mr Blair's evidence is being split into morning and afternoon sessions, and separate draws were carried out for each session. Over the course of the day the two sessions will provide eighty places in the hearing room for members of the public and forty seats for families, with a changeover taking place during the lunch break.
The six families who applied but were not successful in getting a place in the hearing room are guaranteed a seat in a private viewing room at the Inquiry venue if they wish.
There is also an additional viewing facility for the public, with 700 seats in a large auditorium in the QEII conference centre in central London where the Inquiry is being held. The places for this were also drawn in the ballot. Access to this facility will also be split into morning and afternoon sessions, so up to 1400 people will be able to gain entry to it. That means that in total almost half of the people who entered the ballot will be able to come to the Inquiry venue on the day Mr Blair gives evidence to the Inquiry, whether to be in the hearing room itself, in the private family room or in the large public viewing facility.