Is Cambridge University’s May Week struggling?

It’s undeniable that 2025 has been a tough year for May Week events.

Clare May Ball, Robinson May Ball, Emmanuel June Event and Sidney Sussex June Event have all been cancelled, while a prospective Fitzwilliam Garden Party has also not gone ahead. The planned Robinson May Ball has been scaled back to a Garden Party exclusive to Robinson students, with Emmanuel also offering an ‘Emmafest’ BOP-style event in place of their cancelled ball for Emma students only.

The fate of other events has also come into question. On 5th April, Trinity Hall June Event posted to confirm that the event was “officially going ahead” after some uncertainty.

The extent of cancellations this year begs the question – is May Week as we know it sustainable? Or will something have to give?

Soaring costs

The cost of living crisis has made a definitive mark on May Week, for both students and committees.

For students, the cost of living crisis has hindered their ability to afford the ever-increasing ticket prices. Maintenance loans have not increased in line with inflation for years, and according to Save the Student’s 2024 Student Money Survey fall short of covering living costs for students by an average of £504 per month. As students’ budgets are continually squeezed, their ability to splash out on May Week events has diminished, impacting events. In their cancellation announcement, the Clare May Ball committee cited the impact of the “changing economic climate” on their decision to cancel the event.

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Simultaneously, in recent years, ticket prices to May Week events have increased year-on-year. While a standard non-college member ticket to the freshers’ favourite, Jesus May Ball, was £190 in 2023, this had risen to £205 in 2024, and further to £214 in 2025. Similarly, the price of a standard non-college member ticket for St Johns’ May Ball, rumoured to be the seventh-best party in the world, has risen from £265 in 2024 to £275 for a non-Johns’ in 2025. Both balls also offer cheaper tickets for college members, and a discount for college members in receipt of the Cambridge Bursary.

It is this combination of declining student budgets and rising ticket prices has created the perfect storm for May Week, as students are faced with the reality of higher ticket prices and lower budgets to spend on events.

This is not to say that committees are at fault for rising prices. Rather, the rising cost of tickets is more broadly a reflection of inflation across the economy. As costs increase, and attendees continue to expect the same calibre of event from year to year, committees are forced to spend more to provide the same quality of event as the previous year, with the impact of inflation ultimately passed on to attendees in ticket prices.

According to one first year student, “it’s not feasible to pay for tickets” to multiple May Week events, meaning that one of the “main impacts of rising costs” is that “everyone I speak to is actively trying to break in to at least one May Ball.”

Jesus May Ball 2023

Anna, a first year student at Newnham, described the cost of May Week events as a “big culture shock”, and that May Week “feels like this hidden cost you don’t know about before you come” to Cambridge.

She said, “I feel grateful that Newnham offers a lower cost alternative”, particularly “as someone who doesn’t drink”.

Garden parties have not been spared from rising ticket prices however. The price of a ticket to Newnham JCR Garden Party has risen from £55 non-alcohol and £60 alcohol in 2024, to £61 non-alcohol and £66 alcohol in 2025.

One second year student also blamed the “culture of excess” at Cambridge for rising prices, as “a significant enough portion of the student body are out of touch with the average person’s affordability for such extravagant events” to allow such events to continue to run in spite of increasing costs.

The increased number of events available

This year compared to last has seen an increased number of May Week events offered by colleges, and some have linked this to the prevalence of cancellations, as a case of over-saturation of the May Week market. In a more crowded market, with less uptake of tickets due to rising prices, May Week committees have suffered.

In 2024, according to May Ball Info, there were 20 college-based May Week events planned: 16 May Balls and 4 June Events/Garden Parties. Of these just one, Murray Edwards Garden Party, was cancelled, meaning 19 ran across the week.

In 2025, 23 total events were planned: 13 May Balls and 10 June Events/Garden Parties (including the Fitzwilliam Garden Party). Of these 23, 5 have been cancelled or not gone ahead for other reasons, leaving 18 scheduled to run across the week.

Murray Edwards Garden Party 2023

What could change?

One option is for the content of May Balls or June Events to change their content to increase affordability. One post on anonymous Facebook confessions page Camfess suggested that committees should “pare back the May Ball” as a way to reduce costs, and “focus on the party aspect not the extremities of show”. If May Balls continue to pursue the same quality of event year after year ticket prices are bound to increase – adapting events to keep costs down may therefore be the best way forward.

Some have also suggested that colleges should co-operate more in the planning of events, with reduced frequency and more inter-college partnerships to ease the over-crowded May Week event market.

Sophie, a third year student at Murray Edwards, said that events running “every other year” rather than annually seemed “a better idea”, as “people [would be] choosing between less options”, boosting attendance at the events that would be running.

This was reiterated by a second year student, who stated that “May Balls should coordinate more to avoid cancellations and disappointment”.

“The competition is tough and I don’t think it really makes sense for most colleges to have a May Ball every year”.

Such sentiments have also been shared by students on anonymous Facebook confessions page Camfess. One post suggested that “strategising partnerships with other colleges” would be more effective in future as a way to boost “external [ticket] sales and prevent future cancellations”.

The future of May Week

All is not lost for May Week though. Halima, a first year student at Fitzwilliam, said that although the impact of the rising prices meant she “had to be more selective with which events to go to” this year, she still felt “so excited for May Week” as “it’s one of the most special times of the year”.

Ultimately, the vast majority of events have not been cancelled, and the fact that 18 May Week events, each with hundreds or even thousands of attendees are able to run at Cambridge in a single week is testament to the enduring popularity of May Week, and the willingness of many students to splash out on events. May Week is a celebration of the hard work across the year, a chance to finally relax and let loose after the intensity of Cambridge exam season.

While rising costs and declining ticket sales may have had an impact on May Week, they have certainly not yet killed it off entirely. Whether May Week will adapt and change in response to the struggles of 2025 has yet to be seen.