As the sun tentatively reappears and, for many, work is put on the back burner in favour of lazy sunny afternoons, a select group of university students are feeling the pressure from more than just impending exams.
For students and alumni of
Cambridge University, the highlight of the academic year is May week (confusingly falling in mid-June) and the selection of balls thrown to celebrate the end of the exam period. May week is big business, with most colleges holding events and tickets costing up to £200 each, so the student event organisers have a challenge on their hands to compete with every other college and top last year’s festivities.
The balls tend to follow a set format, although they vary greatly in size, dress code, theme and grandeur. Due to the scale of the events, online ticket systems are used, with numbers often limited and college members given priority.
Arguably the most famous of the May Balls is hosted by
St John’s College, one of the richest in Cambridge, held towards the beginning of May week. In 2011, a pair of tickets auctioned for charity shortly before the ball sold for £16,000, contributing to the million pound charity fundraising target set to be raised in the next twenty years. With multiple headline acts, bands, DJs, orchestras, comedians, dancers and magicians, logistics for the
event management team are a difficult task. Tickets are only available for purchase by current or past ‘Johnians’ and are sold in pairs, £310 for basic tickets or £440 to include a lavish five-course meal. As the price of tickets rises, so do expectations, but with big name acts, multiple specialist drinks bars, chilled drinks served in punts and a firework display to rival the Olympic Closing Ceremony (or at least Trinity College’s offering), guests are very well provided for.
Although each ball is organised independently, entrepreneurial students have created websites to compare the details and plans for each ball and enable attendees to select the best option. One site, (www.whichmayball.co.uk), uses a popularity algorithm based on the number of page hits on each ball’s home page to rank upcoming events and gauge public feeling. This creative use of
social media is a party planner’s secret weapon; although tickets for May balls are always in hot demand, using all tools available to promote an event ensures a
buzz is created in the build up to it.
Those who survive the night and are still present in the morning earn the right to be included in the ‘survivors’ photo’ and are free to tuck into a hearty breakfast and decide how the ball has measured up. For the
event organisers, it’s time to review the night, survey the post-party chaos and beginning planning for bigger and better the following year.
Article by Laura Bennett
Photo from: cambridge.tab.co.uk
