Bleary eyed students head home after Oxford University's prestigious £165-a-ticket Balliol College May Ball

Daily Mail​

11-05-2025

Bleary-eyed Oxford University students were pictured making their way home from a May Ball in the early hours of this morning.
Revellers donned ball gowns and bow ties as they ambled through the town's historic streets following the Star Crossed Lovers themed event at Balliol College.
The night ran from 8pm until 4am when those who stayed to the end had a 'survivor's photo' before making their way home.
One trio of stragglers were seen munching on sandwiches as they tried to refuel themselves for the journey back.
Meanwhile, another group, including a man holding a croquet mallet, wheeled a wagon carrying crates of unused beer down the road.
Others clutched their shoes as they tried to give their tired feet a rest while one woman hitched a ride on a friend's shoulders.
Some chose to cycle home, with one cheerful pair beaming and waving at the camera as they pedaled away.
Early on Saturday evening excited students wearing masquerade masks lined up along Broad Street in the city centre as they waited for the doors to open.
The night's headliner was early 2000's band, Toploader known for hits like 'Dancing in the Moonlight'.
Revellers donned ball gowns and bow ties as they ambled through the town's historic streets following the Star Crossed Lovers themed event at Balliol College. One trio of stragglers were pictured munching on sandwiches as they tried to refuel themselves for the journey back
The lavish event boasted a silent disco, dancers and even a rave room pumping out techno into the surrounding streets.
Drone footage captured what was happening behind the prestigious university's walls and showed the different stages and areas of the ball.
In one aerial image the campus resembles a festival - with colorful strobes lighting up the courtyards.
The sold out Balliol Ball had tickets that included food, drink and various games and music acts were available for Alumni students for £165.
The college, which is the oldest in the city and founded in 1263, was where Boris Johnson and Rory Stewart studied.
Various other Oxford Colleges also had their balls on the same evening, including Lady Margaret Hall where attendees were also seen making their way home at 5am.
In recent months, some colleges from Cambridge have shunned the traditional May Ball for lesser garden parties or discos as prices spiraled and left many students unable to afford tickets.
In February Robinson College announced it was going to scrap the extravagant bash - in favour of hosting a 'more accessible and inclusive' event instead.
With entry to the previously annual Ball setting students back as much as £270, the institute opted for an 'alternative' event which it hopes will have more appeal.
Early on Saturday evening excited students wearing masquerade masks lined up along Broad Street in the city centre as they waited for the doors to open
The sold out Balliol Ball had tickets that included food, drink and various games and music acts available for Alumni students for £165
The night's headliner was early 2000's band, Toploader known for hits like 'Dancing in the Moonlight'
Robinson College, which is Cambridge's newest college having been founded in 1977, will now hold a 'mega bop' in June in place of the May Ball.
This new event will retain the original Ball's 'film noir' theme, but will see tickets made available to all Cambridge University undergraduates at much cheaper prices.
It is believed that the May Ball has struggled in recent years to attract Cambridge students, with the lofty £270 ticket prices turning off many young people as they endure increased living costs.
Ticket sales were in fact so poor in 2019 that the event was cancelled altogether.
A statement on the Robinson May Ball committee's social media said that the decision had been made to cancel this year's event to 'ensure as many students as possible' can enjoy the college's new 'mega bop'.