Glittery silver mini skirt donned, pre-drinks stuffed in a tiny college kitchen, and bright magenta cocktails in plastic cups – what magic could this be other than a Cambridge college party? Underground small rooms, the Fitzwilliam auditorium, and even the Murray Edwards dome have all seen the infamous ‘bop’ (a title exuding edge) grace their hallowed walls. A staple of Cambridge social life for over 50 years, bops are typically student-organised events run in conjunction with college, with an eye-catching theme, music, and cheap alcohol. At my last college bop, however, the dance floor was discouragingly empty, the music concerningly quiet, and students seemed to pop their heads in for a quick boogie before heading out to a more interesting Saturday night. It’s easy for bops to fall off into a sparsely full mid-20th century events room with overly sweet drinks and wince-worthy Spotify playlists. Interested to learn whether bops are losing their aura or if the bop scene is only heating up (especially post-COVID), I spoke with attendees of bops, freshers and non-freshers alike, and college ents teams across many colleges.

“It’s easy for bops to fall off into a sparsely full mid-20th century events room with overly sweet drinks and wince-worthy Spotify playlists”

The enduring popularity of some bops proves the tradition is far from extinct. A big name in the bop scene is the infamous Robinson bop. While most colleges run bops a couple of times a term, Jules and Jasmine (Robinson ents officers) share with me how the Robinson weekly Friday bops are an “institution”. Similarly, the Trinity Hall ents team (not just two, but five people!) have sold out every bop they’ve run over the past year. One of their ents officers, Georgia, emphasised that the trick is appreciating what people want: to her, this is classic sing-along music, cheap drinks, and a lively atmosphere.

Instagram marketing and word of mouth are the main ways word spreads. Retro Pinterest graphics dot the Instagram of Trinity Hall ents, and Caius ents’ Instagram page posts satiric launch videos. Popular bop Instagrams are slathered with digital camera photos from previous nights. The bigger bops have both live music (student bands such as Half Orange or Silver Lining) and a DJ – the biannual ‘Fitz-Up’ has both a live music and dance space and happens on a big enough scale to need a formal security team. Robinson switches up the music according to the theme – think techno for Berghain theme and 70s for 70s night. While few colleges aim to and succeed in emulating a club-style atmosphere, the dark and enchanting experience of new friends and spontaneous romance, many seem to be abandoning a half-hearted in-betweener of a bop and replacing it with a themed bar night. Sidney Sussex has stopped bops entirely and now just does themed bar nights, and Emmanuel’s bops are named ‘bar-exes’ because the bar closing time gets extended.

Commitment to dressing and decorating on-theme is a mixed bag, but “some people really commit” (according to Tit Hall ents). Blow-up cactuses decorated Pembroke for the Wild West theme, complete with ‘Wanted’ posters of the JCR members with the promise of a free drinks token if you can find them. Fitz’s Wild West theme involved hand-painted saloon doors, and Emmanuel did an ‘Emfess’ themed bop and stuck Emfess posts on the walls. Themed drinks are a hit (‘Peter Pan’ cocktail at Tit Hall for the dress as your child’s dream theme). Fitz offers a best-dressed prize. Most are entirely student-run, courtesy of college events officers. Poppy, ents officer for Fitzwilliam, called the planning “extensive”. The Tit Hall team shared that the haphazardness and creativity involved: lots can come together “a bit random and last minute” but this can also be part of the thrill and getting to see people enjoying the event you put together.

“Robinson switches up the music according to the theme – think techno for Berghain theme and 70s for 70s night”

But these are the successful ones – what’s happening elsewhere? At some colleges, bops are more of a dusty relic, held out of college tradition but minimally attended, mostly a way for freshers to meet in the first week. Multiple people cited timings as bops’ main drawback. Large-scale ones like Robinson and Fitzwilliam run late into the evening, ending at 1 to 2a.m., whereas many others are under the obligation to be wrapped up by 11p.m., especially when in a residential area of college. A night that starts at 8 and ends at 11 feels oddly premature; Eloise from Clare noted most people don’t feel properly partied unless they’ve committed to at least watching the clock strike midnight. This makes the difference between Fitzwilliam, where the ents officer told me people “commit for the night”, and colleges like Clare and Pembroke, where the bop is “more of a pres thing”.

But, especially at work-intensive Cambridge, an early finish doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Jules shared that many people enjoy the earlier end, where they can be in bed by midnight. Also, enjoying a night of partying on the cheaper side doesn’t hurt: Robinson’s are free, and most colleges are either free or between £1-3, and at Clare, the money often goes to charity. Most bops are fairly college-only: at Emma, porters even scan cam cards at the entrance to ensure Emma-only attendance. But college-only doesn’t have to be a drawback. Olga at Emma described bops as a chance to get to chat to people you wouldn’t normally, and Trinity Hall gets a big attendance from all year groups, which allows for “inter-year mingling”.

Back in the 90s, Cambridge bops tried to mimic London’s club and rave scene and got in London-based DJs – with named and known events like Churchill’s ‘Pleasure Machine’ night and ‘Kings’ Mingles’. This isn’t quite the reality of the bop world today. There’s no doubt many college bops could benefit from being made brighter, glitzier, and better. But while music, theme, and atmosphere are all key ingredients in the recipe for the perfect college bop, there’s something else needed in the mix. When I asked Katie what the foundation of a successful bop is, she concluded, “it’s the culture and the people”. It’s the sense of community that makes or breaks the college bop. It’s what a cosy college bar offers that Revs smoking area can’t: somewhere where, as Eloise points out, there’s a “friendly environment” and it’s “quite easy to just chat to people”. Even though Trinity Hall gets around half their bop attendees from out-of-college students (through tickets sold on FIXR), high attendance across year groups means it’s a “big family affair”. At Pembroke, it’s college tradition that the final song of the night is the college anthem, and everyone sways in a circle, singing along to it.

College bops aren’t quite a centre of Cambridge social life, but the ‘scene’ definitely isn’t extinct, and many seem to be adjusting to find their place amid the world of Cambridge nightlife. It’s safe to say the sticky-floors, overly sweet cocktails, and eclectic costume choices characteristic of the Cambridge bop tradition aren’t going anywhere yet.