Cambridge May Balls – Yet Another Rich Kid’s Club?

I’ve got May balls on my mind

May Balls are too expensive. This is no great surprise: there will be no segments on breaking news, no storms of journalists furiously demanding answers. It is one of the universally-acknowledged truths of Cambridge existence: the porters lodge is called ‘plodge’, lectures never finish on time, and May balls are too expensive. We sigh, shrug our shoulders and return our thoughts to whatever essay has recently been forced upon us. 

I, however, have found myself unable to accept this particular Cambridge reality. The staggering, colossal, cosmic numbers have been flashing bright-red in my mind, blaring incessantly with the volume of an air raid siren. Dostoevsky and Nietzsche will have to wait, I am too busy mulling over the fact that a dining ticket to St John’s would set me back £410. Apologies, Otto von Bismarck, I will get to you soon – but did you know that external tickets for the Magdalene May Ball cost £260? 

Extortion and absurdity

If the Cambridge bubble has warped your sense of reasonable pricing, and you regard these figures with casual indifference, let me remind you of what the cost of one of these tickets could get you. Let us take as an example Jesus May Ball. For non-Jesus students, it currently costs £214 – slightly more than the average ticket. Here is what that £214, if elsewhere invested, could get you: four return flights to Paris. Three tickets to Beyoncé. Seven Revlon hairdryers. Fifty-nine Tesco meal deals. One week’s rent. 

Jesus May Ball 2023
Image credits: Anna Mardling

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It’s not the price alone which staggers me. After all, you do admittedly receive an exuberance of experiences with your ticket: food, fireworks and even fortune tellers. The terms and conditions attached to some of these tickets, however, serve as yet another cause for astonishment. On the Trinity May Ball website, in a suitably soulless black-and-white layout, I learned that transferring a ticket could cost up to £60, and after a certain date would only be possible at the discretion of the committee. Any refunds – which must be requested in writing to the Senior Treasurer, and are awarded only under exceptional circumstances – entail a £50 fee. Discounted tickets, available to students with bursaries, should theoretically address the issue of unaffordable prices and lack of inclusivity. The discount offered by Trinity, however, is almost laughable. The regular price for an internal student stands at £215, while the discounted ticket – available only to Trinity students with a full Cambridge bursary – is £185. What astounding generosity!

Who’s to blame?

I will concede, however, that May Ball committees are not the spawns of Satan. As they receive no funding from colleges, many have to resort to creative methods to keep costs reasonable. Sidney Sussex have reduced the ticket price by almost half by hosting the event earlier and saving on lighting. Many colleges now alternate yearly between May Balls and a cheaper ‘June Event’, and offer more significant bursary discounts than Trinity. Inflation in the entertainment industry mean events cost significantly more to host.

Crucially, prices remain largely unchallenged by the student population. Every year, thousands and thousands of people transfer hundreds and hundreds of pounds to various May Ball committees. Trinity May Ball, for instance, is in such high demand that you can’t simply buy a ticket, you must apply – getting a ticket almost feels harder than getting into Cambridge itself. Jesus boasts over 3ooo attendees.

Jesus May Ball Queue
Image credits: Anna Mardling

Perhaps the problem isn’t profit-hungry committees, but the willingness of the student body. Time and time again, ‘it’s soooo expensive’ is said in the same tone used to describe £5 coffee, and the tickets are purchased. On Susfess (Sidney’s confession page), outrage erupted at the rescheduled timings. “People would pay the extra £40 for the night lighting”, one post reads. This expectation that everyone can simply whip up £40, and spend hundreds of pounds on one night’s entertainment is perhaps a sign of this story’s true villain: the privilege which continues to permeate the core of Cambridge life.

Susfess post (a highly reliable journalistic source)

Trinity May Ball Committee have been approached for comment. 

Featured image credits: Anna Mardling