As one of the least expensive events in May Week, Homerton Summer Ball had certainly attracted the crowds. Despite less build up and reputation than the larger balls, Homerton completely surpassed expectations. The committee had put together a slick, exciting and, most importantly, really, really fun event. While other Balls and June Events try to prioritise indulgence, Homerton got it spot on in putting enjoyment first throughout – and it absolutely paid off.

This isn’t to say that the elements weren’t of high quality – they really were – and it felt that the evening had been planned meticulously to ensure that there was something for everyone. There was great continuity with theme across the event; fitting with the theme ‘The Great Unknown’,  starry projected backgrounds and lighting transformed the most frequented areas of the College into outer-space. Lighting in particular was used well to reflect the theme, with lanterns as a pretty addition to seating areas and space-themed bean bags providing other places to rest up over the night. Some people had gone for cosmic-inspired outfit features, with sparkly dresses and fun bowties adding to the existing decorations.

Having already won many over with an ice cream van as we queued, inside the Ball the main food options were hog roast and delicious mezze boxes, with none of the issues of past years of supplies quickly running out. The range of food in the ‘Refuelling Station’ was varied, offering burgers, chilli with jacket potatoes and plenty of other prime 2am food choices. Chocolate fountains and ‘intergalactic cupcakes’ satisfied on the sweet side of things, as well as popcorn, candyfloss and chocolates later on.

The drinks also kept flowing over the night, with bars spread across the Ball providing social spaces as well as a range of cocktails, spirits, beers and soft drinks. The indoor spaces were relaxed and friendly, as people chatted away from the more lively activities, and the outdoor bar right next to the main stage in a perfect location.

 The classic bugbear of long and badly managed queues was almost entirely absent – we rarely had to queue for more than a couple of minutes at all, with the only exception being laser tag at peak times. This was largely because there was so much going on, including a bouncy castle obstacle course in the Great Hall and various elements of the ‘Astronaut Training Academy’, such as a high striker, swinging ball game and more, with laser tag seeming like the particular favourite.

In addition to the more active side, The Impronauts were very well received and henna and glitter were hugely popular. The abundance of great photography opportunities helped to capture the moments of fun everyone was having. There was certainly more going on than there was chance to see over the six hours; I also heard great things about other comedy acts and the Animal Experience.

For many, the highlight was the music – particularly Colonel Spanky’s Love Ensemble drawing crowds to the stage within seconds and keeping us there thanks to their great engagement with the audience, and Truly Medley Deeply’s well-chosen set catering for all musical nostalgias. The excellent choices on this front really did bring everyone together in front of the main stage towards the end of the night and helped to create a buzzing atmosphere, with the performers interacting with an enthusiastic, happy and very glittery crowd.

 The whole event felt “very Homerton” – it wasn’t opulent or over the top, but everything was catered towards creating an incredibly enjoyable time for everyone there. I was not the only one by any means to leave citing it as my best evening in Cambridge of my three years here, largely because everyone was so happy and impressed with the way that the Ball had created such a fantastic atmosphere.

The Committee were rightly thrilled with how it went too, particularly the President, Jonathan Huse: "The night went as well as I could have hoped. I'm extremely pleased that people enjoyed themselves so much and am very grateful for the hard work of the committee. This was, if I dare say so, the best non-Ball May Week event Homerton has ever put on. It should give us a strong foundation to be even better in future years."

This Summer Ball has undoubtedly shown that Homerton can throw the kind of party you want to be at and has every capability of putting on events of this calibre every year.