It’s been almost three years since a May Week of its usual extravagance blessed the end of the Cambridge year. As a result, the only undergraduates who have experienced May Week first-hand are now in their fourth years of study.

As May Week is finally set to make a return to normal, we chatted to the Presidents of the Trinity and Jesus May Balls and the Chair of King’s Affair to hear more about their plans for this year’s events. We were also joined by Rose Sargent, Vice President of the May Ball President’s Committee, which is composed of the Presidents and Chairs of all major May Week events.

Firstly, we asked about the experience of organising the May Balls which went on to be cancelled in both 2020 and 2021. Rose, who chaired King’s Affair last year, described it as “devastating” when they realised the event couldn’t go ahead. Rohit Kale, this year’s Jesus May Ball President, said he was “crushed” last year, especially after planning for many different scenarios from the offset.

Trinity May Ball President, Claudia Feng, went on to say: “I was more crushed on behalf of the finalists in Cambridge… [a May Ball is] for our friends, it’s for our peers, it’s for the college, and it’s for the university”. She continued: “My grandpa has passed away and I can no longer bring him and show him all the things that we’ve done, which is really unfortunate”.

Rose made it clear that managing Covid-19 risk is at the “forefront” of every committee meeting, and told us that “no colleges will be cutting corners on health and safety.”

We both matriculated in 2018, and are part of the lucky few who experienced a typical May Week back in 2019. The same, however, can’t be said by most, and King’s Affair’s 2022 Chair, Alexander Scoby, told us that “the process [has been] more challenging at times… since nobody here remembers the last King’s Affair!” Claudia told us that this same lack of institutional memory has even meant that “it’s been a struggle to find people for committee.”

“The second we start talking about prices, everyone has a mini-heart attack”

The cost of attending a May Ball is a difficult subject, but it’s one that can’t be ignored. The presidents agreed that factors such as Brexit, the pandemic and the current staff shortages in the hospitality industry have put even greater pressure on ticket prices this year.

Alex said: “Prices are especially tough for King’s Affair. We pride ourselves on being an affordable, accessible alternative to ‘traditional’ May Balls.” He adds that King’s is “still one of the cheapest May Balls (£105 for guests), and definitely the best value!” On the other end of the scale, however, a double (two person ticket) for Trinity costs £450: Claudia admits that “the second we start talking about prices, everyone has a mini-heart attack.”

Rose goes on to say that May Balls and June Events don’t make a profit, and that they have a number of “irreducible costs [like] production, infrastructure, [and] security.” Rohit further emphasised that “the price of a May Ball ticket includes quite a lot. Unlimited food and drink, and lots of different entertainment across the entire night.”

He also mentioned that Jesus “have at least three, sometimes four, stages across the ball, and they all have entertainment,” including “massive headline acts,” where Example, Pixie Lott, and Becky Hill headlined Jesus May Ball, St. John’s May Ball, and Trinity May Ball in 2019.

“There’s no silver bullet for [combatting spiking], so really it’s about being vigilant”

For Rohit, “it’s the scale that makes it worth it”; he told us that his committee “probably couldn’t reduce [ticket prices] by a penny.”

Over the past few months, reports of drink-spiking and spiking by injection have risen across the UK, with incidents reported at college bops and on the Varsity Ski trip. We asked how presidents would address this at their respective events, and they all had precautions in place, including working with their JCRs, Cambridge SU, and St. John’s Ambulance.

Alexander told us that King’s Affair has been working “to procure recyclable and potentially reusable drink covers” as well as providing the best options for drink testing. They’re also “considering wristbands, tests for if you think you might have been spiked, and ‘SipChips’.”

As for security, Rohit said that “there’s no silver bullet for this issue, so really it’s about being vigilant and making sure that all the staff on the night are trained.” He added that having “more security roaming around the ball should hopefully deter any undesirable behaviour.” At Trinity May Ball, Claudia will be “making sure we have female security guards who have had experience with spiking”.

Finally, we asked each president to sum up the experience which they’re working so hard to provide their guests.

Rohit wants to wow the attendees at Jesus May Ball, and said: “For us, for a lot of people, the May Ball ticket price is high and we want… people to come to the ball and think ‘Wow, how did they pull this off?’ [We want] them to take that away as one of the key highlights as one of their entire university experience.”

“We host a diverse, accessible, historically anti-establishment party in a venue that is globally known as a bastion of tradition and elitism”

Claudia expressed that Trinity is “going for the May Ball experience, no penny spared.” She then apologised to “everyone that’s ever taught [her]” and expressed that “[university] is not about what you learn, but the experiences you have and the friendships you make.” She wants people to leave university remembering “the time you dressed up really nicely, [and] had some champagne and oysters by the river,” rather than three years of lockdowns.

Lastly, Alexander told us that King’s Affair, often sold as “the antidote to May Balls”, “was borne out of a sense of frustration with ‘traditional’ May Balls… We host a diverse, accessible, historically anti-establishment party in a venue that is globally known as a bastion of tradition and elitism… In three words: creativity, techno, and transformations.”