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.
As the all-male colleges began to allow female students, the ubiquitous double tickets began to be bought by pairs of students rather than inviting a date from outside of the university, causing a corresponding reduction in ticket sales; in 1991 Sidney Sussex and Downing merged balls, and in 1992 Pembroke cancelled its ball. When in 1993 there were a reported 16000 tickets available to an undergraduate population of 10000, Selwyn, Emmanuel, Girton and Peterhouse were all forced to cancel their balls, though Trinity and Magdalene sold out as usual. The solution was for most of the smaller balls to hold events every other year, and by the 2000s only Trinity, St John's, Clare, and Jesus were still holding annual May Balls.
They fell out of popularity with the students in the 1990s, but this trend has since reversed and tickets now sell out in record time. Local businesses also now seek to get involved and the local punting companies put on special night-time tours to allow people to watch the John's and Trinity College firework displays on the Backs from the River Cam - the river usually becomes gridlocked for these evenings during May Week.
Many Cambridge colleges originally held the balls in May, sometimes in the week preceding year-end exams. Today, they take place in May Week, which usually starts on the second Thursday of June following the end of exams, and which includes Suicide Sunday. The balls operate a strict dress code. Magdalene and Peterhouse insist on white tie, which is recommended but not required at Trinity, while all the others have a minimum of only black tie. Most balls are themed, though Magdalene, Peterhouse, and Trinity's are notable for their lack of a theme.
The First and Third Trinity Boat Club May Ball (named after the boat club, but now run by Trinity College), held on the first Monday of May Week, and the St John's May Ball, held on the first Tuesday. Magdalene and Peterhouse hold exclusive white tie balls. Other desirable May balls are held annually by Clare, which has some of the most beautiful gardens, Jesus, whose ball is popular amongst first year students, and Queens', whose balls are well known for finding soon-to-be-famous up and coming acts (see Performances below). Sidney Sussex is known for producing a well-regarded ball for a smaller college, notably creating headlines in 2010 when an artificial lake and canal was created to enable punting at the landlocked college. Robinson hosts the first ball of May Week, and is also one of the least expensive black tie balls, but still provides an extravagant start to May Week. St Edmund's hosts the final ball of May Week and is known for attracting finalists and postgraduates, and also for never running out of drinks. Christ's is known for securing high-profile acts. The latest addition to May Week will come on Saturday 20 June 2015 as Selwyn hosts a May Ball for the first time since 2008. Trinity, Clare and St John's are situated directly on the River Cam, along the Backs, as are Queens', Magdalene and Trinity Hall. As a result, when several balls are held on the same evening, the river is lit up in different colours from the lights and the fireworks, creating a memorable backdrop to the evening's festivities.
Annual balls are held by Clare, Darwin, Hughes Hall, Jesus, St Edmund's, Robinson, Trinity and St John's; while Magdalene, Pembroke, Emmanuel, Corpus Christi, Christ's, Downing, Girton, Gonville and Caius, Homerton, Newnham, Queens', Sidney Sussex and St Catharine's hold May Balls every two years.
Most balls have fundamental similarities: all will offer guests a variety of food, entertainment, and a selection of alcoholic drinks. The quality and diversity of all of these vary markedly between different balls. While all claim to offer luxury (and many deliver), some have distinctive hallmarks: Peterhouse is famed for its ferris wheel, Magdalene for its dining, Trinity for its exceptional fireworks and flame display, Clare for its entertainment lineup and St John's and Robinson for its party atmosphere.
Ball entertainment is a closely guarded secret, not least because of the fear that other committees will 'free ride' by booking an act already booked at another ball and thus have to pay a reduced fee because the band is in Cambridge already, whilst simultaneously devaluing the 'get' by the initial contractor. This was seen in 2010 when Two Door Cinema Club performed at four separate balls. Partly for this reason, ball line-ups are not usually announced until the night of the ball, although they tend to leak out fairly early.
Colleges with larger May balls pay considerable attention to security and the prevention of ball crashing. With tickets priced at over £150 and in short supply, students often try to gain unauthorized access, climbing high walls, arriving dressed as gorillas pretending to be part of the evening's entertainment, and posing as journalists. Typically, college porters are joined by both student and professional security staff and, at larger balls, police to identify and apprehend the crashers. Some colleges have painted walls with anti-burglar paint, which stains the crashers' clothes with luminous green paint, making it somewhat difficult to blend in. More courageous crashers can be seen swimming down the river Cam holding their clothes in a plastic bag above the water in an attempt to enter colleges from the banks.
As part of the security arrangements, students living in parts of the college and not attending the May Ball are often required either to vacate their rooms or remain in them without leaving overnight, in spite of the inevitable loud music.
Several colleges host a variation on these balls, a June Event. These are cheaper (£60-90), tend to be focused on live music, and frequently have less formal dress codes. Some colleges alternate June events and May balls from year to year. Trinity Hall, Newnham and Wolfson hold June events.
King's holds an annual event known as the "King's Affair" — like the June events it is cheaper and has a reputation for "Beats not Bollinger"; guests are invited to wear any costume they choose. With seven different music stages focusing mainly on new DJs the atmosphere is perhaps more akin to some festivals. The college used to hold a traditional May Ball, but this was banned by the local police after The Stranglers played in the 1970s and caused a crush.
In order to spread the fun throughout the year, a number of colleges have broken with tradition to hold balls at different times, normally either in the winter at the end of Michaelmas term, i.e. the beginning of December, or in spring at the end of Lent term. Selwyn is the only college to hold a yearly winter ball, known as the Snowball; in 2008 Selwyn also held a May Ball to celebrate its 125th Birthday and will do so again in 2015. Fitzwilliam holds winter balls every two years, the most recent being December 2014. Of the spring balls, that of Girton is held biennially at the end of Lent term in March, whereas Churchill continues to produce an annual ball in the middle of Lent term every February.
Friday, 10 June
Robinson May Ball - Robinson Crusoe
Homerton Summer Ball - The Great Unknown
Saturday, 11 June
Lucy Cavendish & Hughes Hall College - Paradise, Lost
Monday, 13 June
Clare May Ball - The Orient Express
Jesus College May Ball - The Uninhabitable
Trinity May Ball - theme TBA
Tuesday, 14 June
St John's May Ball - Hollywood
Christ's May Ball - Biophilia
Caius May Ball - Præternaturalia: an Electric Evolution
Wednesday, 15 June
King's Affair - Psyche
Sidney Sussex May Ball - Beyond
St Catharine's May Ball - Infusion: Electrify the Senses
Thursday, 16 June
Clare Hall May Ball - Black and White
Friday, 17 June
Darwin May Ball - theme TBA
St Edmund's May Ball i.p.w. Wolfson - The Wild Hunt
Friday, 12 June
Robinson May Ball - Robinson Rewinds
Homerton May Ball - Olympus
Saturday, 13 June
Hughes Hall May Ball - Around the World in 12 Hours
Sunday, 14 June
Emmanuel College May Ball - Naturalis Historiae
Monday, 15 June
Clare May Ball - The Imaginarium
Jesus College May Ball - Wildcard
Trinity May Ball - no theme
Tuesday, 16 June
Downing May Ball - Written by Roald Dahl and Illustrated by Quentin Blake
Queens' May Ball - The Museum of Curiosity
St John's May Ball - Childhood Literature
Wednesday, 17 June
The King's Affair - Glitch
Magdalene May Ball
Pembroke College May Ball - Elemental
Peterhouse May Ball
Trinity Hall June Event - Marmalade Skies
Thursday, 18 June
Clare Hall Soiree - Starry Night: Lost In La Belle Époque
Friday, 19 June
Corpus Christi May Ball - From Innocence to Experience
St Edmunds May Ball - Bootlegger Ball
Wolfson June Event - 50 years, 5 decades, 1 party
Saturday, 20 June
Selwyn May Ball - theme TBA
Tuesday, 10 June
Churchill Men's Pool Society May Ball - "Theme TBA"
Friday, 13 June
Robinson College May Ball - "Land of the Rising Sun"
Saturday, 14 June
Hughes Hall May Ball - "Terra do Brasil"
Monday, 16 June
Clare College May Ball - "Primordial"
Trinity College May Ball - no theme
Wednesday, 18 June
King's Affair - "Subterranea"
Friday, 15 February
Churchill Spring Ball - "Welcome to Wonderland"
Friday, 14 June
Robinson College May Ball - "The Great Exhibition of 1851"
Saturday, 15 June
Hughes Hall College May Ball - "A Red Carpet Affair"
Sunday, 16 June
Emmanuel College May Ball - "Last Call to London"
Monday, 17 June
Clare College May Ball - "Kaleidoscopic"
Trinity College May Ball
Jesus College May Ball - "Dreamcatcher"
Newnham College Garden Party - "Glasto in the Gardens"
Tuesday, 18 June
Downing College May Ball - "Eastern Odyssey"
Queens' College May Ball - Centenary May Ball
Homerton College May Ball - "American Dreams"
St. Johns' May Ball - "Ars Gratia Artis"
Wednesday, 19 June
Pembroke College May Ball - "The Tempest"
Magdalene College May Ball
Trinity Hall June Event - "Before I Wake"
King's Affair - "The Beast Within"
Thursday, 20 June
Clare Hall May Ball - "Venetian Masquerade"
Friday, 21 June
Corpus Christi College May Ball - "Phantasmagoria"
St Edmund's May Ball - "Midsummer Night"
St Catharine's College June Event - "Post Apocalypse"
Wolfson June Event - "Wolfstock"
Darwin College May Ball - "The Orient Express"
Past performances are listed below:
2016
Nero (Caius)
The Hoosiers (Christ's)
Blonde, Artful Dodger (Clare)
Jack Garratt, Clean Bandit, Coasts (Jesus)
Afriquoi, Dan Shake, Black Honey (Robinson)
NAO (Sidney)
Tinchy Stryder (to replace Wiley) (Catz)
Coasts, Basement Jaxx (St John's)
Nothing but Thieves, Sigma (Trinity)
2015
Professor Green, Raleigh Ritchie (Clare)
The Feeling, Wretch 32, DJ Fresh (Downing)
Pendulum (DJ set) (Emma)
James Bay, Prides (Jesus)
The Fratellis (Magdalene)
Ben UFO (DJ set) (Peterhouse)
Coasts, Lucy Rose (Queens')
Saint Raymond (Robinson)
Ministry of Sound (Selwyn)
Gorgon City (to replace Jess Glynne) (St John's)
2014
Ella Eyre, S Club 3, Swiss Lips and Pendulum (Clare)
King Charles, Childhood, The Other Tribe (Girton)
Mausi, Maribou State, Thumpers (Robinson)
2013
The Correspondents, King Charles and The Futureheads (Clare)
Dog Is Dead, Toploader, We Were Evergreen, Kyla La Grange (Downing)
Spector, Gabrielle Aplin (Emmanuel)
Maverick Sabre, DJ MistaJam, The Correspondents (Jesus)
Noisettes, Duologue (Magdalene)
Everything Everything (Pembroke)
BΔSTILLE, Beardyman, The Other Tribe, The Boy With Tape On His Face, Simon Amstell, Abandoman (Queens')
The Pigeon Detectives, Clean Bandit, Mungo's Hi Fi (Robinson)
Rudimental, AlunaGeorge, DJ Jodie Harsh, Nico Muhly (St John's)
Example, Tom Bowman, Basshunter, Clean Bandit, Jigsaw, Lulu James, Swiss Lips, Wolf Alice, Artwork, and Cool Kid Sound (Trinity)
August and After, Myles Sanko (St Edmund's)
2012
DJ Fresh (Clare)
Nick Grimshaw (DJ Set), Loick Essien (Girton)
The Feeling, Spector (band) (Caius)
Rizzle Kicks, Russell Kane (Jesus)
The Correspondents, Donaeo, Summer Camp (Robinson)
Kelis, Man Like Me, Dog Is Dead, Niyi (Sidney Sussex)
Magnetic Man, Bombay Bicycle Club (DJ Set), Redlight, B.Traits, Nico Muhly (St John's)
Pixie Lott, Vengaboys (Trinity)
2011
DJ Fresh, Artful Dodger (Churchill)
Mystery Jets, Jamie xx, Clean Bandit (Magdalene)
Ms Dynamite, Tinchy Stryder, The Correspondents (Clare)
Wretch 32 (Corpus Christi)
Yelle, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (Emmanuel)
The Futureheads, John B (Pembroke)
Bombay Bicycle Club, Alex Clare, Josh Widdicombe (Queens')
Big Boi, Chipmunk, Erol Alkan, TC (St John's)
Cascada, Booty Luv, Labrinth, Jonny Sweet, Ed Gamble (Trinity)
Aloe Blacc, Nero (DJ set) (Trinity Hall)
2010
Two Door Cinema Club and Everything Everything (Christ's)
The Rumble Strips and Jaguar Skills (Churchill)
Faithless, Tinie Tempah, Lawson and Neil Cowley (Clare)
Crystal Fighters, Daisy Dares You, Devlin, Rox, Cyantific, Mary Hampton and Alun Cochrane (Girton)
Mr Hudson, Two Door Cinema Club, Sub Focus, The Fillers and Orpheus (Jesus)
Two Door Cinema Club, Alex Metric, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, Lovers Electric and Brendon Burns (Robinson)
Chipmunk, Goldie Lookin' Chain, Two Door Cinema Club and Toploader (Sidney Sussex)
S Club, Chew Lips, Patch William, Plus One (St Catharine's)
Ellie Goulding, Alex Metric, Jakwob, The Cheek and Ann Murray (St John's)
Alphabeat, Wheatus, Greg Davies, Amateur Transplants, DJ Breeze and Cantabile (Trinity)
Guillemots and The Pipettes (Trinity Hall)
2009
Foals (DJ set) and Nine Black Alps (Churchill)
Feeder, The Xcerts and Portico Quartet (Clare)
The Automatic and Ebony Bones (Corpus Christi)
Pendulum (DJ set), Utah Saints (DJ set) and DARTZ! (Downing)
Artful Dodger, Cornershop and Chase & Status (Emmanuel)
Noah and the Whale, High Contrast (Homerton)
The Go! Team, VV Brown, Hadouken! (DJ set), Little Boots (DJ set), Wild Beasts and Clean Bandit (Jesus)
Red Light Company and DJ Hype (King's)
The Rumble Strips and Scratch Perverts (Magdalene)
Metronomy (Pembroke)
Simian Mobile Disco (DJ set), Beardyman and Marina and the Diamonds (Peterhouse)
Florence And The Machine (Queens')
DJ Yoda, DJ Luck & MC Neat and Magistrates (Robinson)
Calvin Harris, Fenech-Soler and The Puppini Sisters (St John's)
Athlete, Wiley and Hamfatter (Trinity)
2008
Boy Kill Boy, Danger, Official Secrets Act and Soho Dolls (Christ's)
Noisettes (Churchill)
Delays (Clare)
The Rascals (Emmanuel)
Hervé and Example (Girton)
Supergrass, British Sea Power and The Whip (Caius)
Stanton Warriors (Homerton)
Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong (Jesus)
Noah And The Whale (King's)
Kele Okereke (DJ set) (Robinson)
I am Kloot, The Young Knives and Oxide & Neutrino (Sidney Sussex)
Out of the Blue and Scratch Perverts (St Catharine's)
Dizzee Rascal, Shy FX, Lesley Garrett and I Was a Cub Scout (St John's)
Elliot Minor and The Rumble Strips (Selwyn)
The Wombats, Scouting for Girls, Milton Jones (Trinity)
Art Brut, The Clientele, Beardyman and Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip (Trinity Hall)
Johnny Flynn & the Sussex Wit (Wolfson)
2007
The Wombats (Churchill)
The Holloways (Clare)
The Sunshine Underground (Corpus Christi)
Out of the Blue (Downing College)
Switches, Stanton Warriors and Good Shoes (Emmanuel)
Ghosts and Elliot Minor (Homerton)
The Pigeon Detectives and I Was A Cub Scout (Jesus)
Candie Payne (Magdalene)
Noisettes (Pembroke)
Klaxons, Shlomo (beatboxing artist) (Queens')
Pendulum and Good Shoes (Robinson)
Just Jack and Good Shoes (St John's)
The Go! Team and The Rumble Strips (Trinity)
Sway DaSafo (Trinity Hall)
2006
The Automatic (Christ's)
The Young Knives (Clare)
Dirty Pretty Things and The Delays (Caius)
The Feeling and The Long Blondes (Jesus)
The Mystery Jets and Sway (Sidney Sussex)
Hot Chip and The Mystery Jets (St John's)
The Guillemots and The Rakes (Trinity)
The Automatic (Trinity Hall)
2005
British Sea Power (Clare)
Editors (Emmanuel)
Nizlopi (Jesus)
The Departure, DJ Marky, Andy Smith, DJ Rip(King's)
The Thrills (Magdalene)
Kaiser Chiefs, Eddy Temple-Morris (Queens')
Röyksopp, Do Me Bad Things (St John's)
The Magic Numbers and Electric Six, Terri Walker (Trinity)
Mylo, Sleepwalker, (Trinity Hall)
2004
Cosmic Rough Riders, (Christ's)
Razorlight (Girton)
Chicane, East 17 (Caius)
Scott Mills (DJ Set), Sleepwalker, Renegade Big Band, (Homerton)
Bic Runga, Lynden David Hall, The Dampness, Me One, Out of the Blue, (Jesus)
Amy Winehouse, Akira (Newnham)
N-Trance, King Adora, Revelation 2000, The Cribs (Robinson)
British Sea Power, Metis and The Kittens (Sidney Sussex)
Scissor Sisters and Flight of the Conchords (St John's)
Big Brovaz, Mark Owen, The Bootleg Beatles and Quanic Soul Orchestra(Trinity)
James Taylor Quartet, The Bluetones, Mark Ronson, Rob Paton, (Trinity Hall)
2003
Terri Walker (Jesus)
DJ Hype (King's)
Blazin' Squad (Magdalene)
Terri Walker(Queens)
Athlete (Robinson)
The Thrills, Mint Royale and The Herbaliser (St John's)
Supergrass and 911 (Trinity)
Space (Trinity Hall)
2002
Snow Patrol (Girton)
The Dandy Warhols (Caius)
Grooverider, Adam F, Jazzie B (King's)
Norman Jay, Kosheen (St John's)
James Taylor Quartet (Trinity)
2001
Hot Chip(Jesus)
Artful Dodger, Ross Noble, Jimmy Carr (St John's)
Ash, Jason Donovan and Armstrong and Miller (Trinity)
2000
Cast, Toploader, Jimmy Carr (St John's)
The Lightning Seeds, Elastica, Hepburn, Ross Noble (Trinity)
1999
Boy George (Queens)
Republica, Danny Rampling, Junior Simpson (St John's)
Republica, Dodgy (Trinity)
1998
Space and My Life Story (St John's)
1997
The Divine Comedy, Judge Jules, Bucks Fizz (St John's)
1996
Right Said Fred, Dubstar, Dave Gorman, Sean Lock (Trinity)
1995
Mike + The Mechanics, Teenage Fanclub, Raw Stylus, Miranda Sex Garden (Trinity)
1994
Sister Sledge, Jools Holland, James Taylor Quartet (Trinity)
1991
The J.B.'s, Brand New Heavies(Clare)
Manic Street Preachers, (Downing)
1985
Katrina and the Waves (St John's)
Acker Bilk (St John's)
Gary Glitter (Jesus)
Mud (Jesus)
1984
Orange Juice (Selwyn)
Orange Juice (Trinity)
1983
The Blues Band, Robinson College Cambridge
Tony Tiger and the Frosties, Robinson College Cambridge
1982
The Stranglers (King's)
Tony Tiger and the Frosties King's College, Cambridge
A Land Fit For Heroes
1980
XTC (Christ's)
1979
Roxy Music (Christ's)
UK Subs (Trinity)
1978
Elvis Costello (Trinity)
1975
John Renbourn and Jacqui McShee (Pembroke)
Jack Bruce Band with Mick Taylor, Carla Bley, Bruce Gary and Ronnie Leahy
1974 Christ's College- Byzantium, Hatfield & The North, Natural Acoustic Band, Nucleus, Average White Band
Clare College- Stray
Darwin College- Byzantium
Pembroke College- Mungo Jerry
Sidney Sussex College- Bridget St John
St John's College- McGuinness Flint
Trinity College- Kevin Ayers
1973
Fairport Convention, Andy Roberts (Emmanuel)
Skin Alley (King's)
Sensational Alex Harvey Band (Pembroke)
Terry Reid (Queens')
Brinsley Schwarz Selwyn College
Stackridge (St John's)
1972
Al Stewart and Steeleye Span (St John's)
Genesis (King's)
Argent (Queens')
Little Free Rock (Corpus Christi)
Hookfoot (Pembroke)
Bond and Brown (Emmanuel)
1970
David Bowie (Jesus)
The Symbols, Alan Price Set, Colosseum, Osibisa and Julie Felix.
1969
John Mayall, Nick Drake, Tuesday's Children, White Unicorn(Caius)
Deep Purple, Fleetwood Mac, Henry Cow (Peterhouse) Henry Cow (Trinity)
The Quiet Melon
1968
Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, (King's)
Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and The Trinity (Peterhouse)
Spooky Tooth (St John's)
1967
The Moody Blues (Christ's)
The Who (Selwyn)
The New Vaudeville Band (Trinity Hall)
1965
Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, The Paramounts, Jokers Wild (Peterhouse)
1964
Bill Savill and his Orchestra, Russell Henderson, Fairweather-Brown All Stars (Al Fairweather and Sandy Brown) (St John's)
1962
Jim HcHarg Scotsville Jazzband (Jack Bruce)
1933
Ray Noble Orchestra
