May Ball

A May Ball is a ball at the end of the academic year that takes place at any of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. They are elaborate and lavish formal affairs, requiring black tie or sometimes white tie, with ticket prices ranging from around £100 to as much as £640 for a pair of dining tickets at Trinity. May Ball budgets (excluding VAT) generally exceed £100,000, although some are as high as £286,000 or even more. The balls are held in the college gardens, starting around from 6-9 p.m. and lasting until well after dawn, with some colleges offering rides in balloons when the ball ends, and even breakfast in Paris, or, more traditionally, punting to Grantchester. "Survivors photographs" are taken of those who last until morning. Other colleges frequently hold winter balls, such as the popular Selwyn Snowball, who recently had acts such Tinchy Stryder and Mumford and Sons headlining.

The tradition of May Balls in Cambridge started in the 1830s with the first official one being the First and Third Trinity Boat Club May Ball in 1866. It is thought they developed from the celebrations surrounding successes in the May Bumps - a set of rowing races which used to take place before the university tripos examinations in May each year. The balls and the other celebrations which make up May Week (such as June Events and garden parties) moved from May to June in 1882, and still take place in June, after examinations, but the name has been retained.

By the 1890s, King's and Clare were holding regular balls, and the first St Catharine's Ball dates from 1929. As the 20th century progressed the formula of the balls varied very little until the 1960s, when students began to question both the cost and perceived stuffiness. Around this time, some colleges began to augment the traditional dance orchestras with rock bands, and by the end of the 1970s the focus of the majority had shifted towards booking rock acts.

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