May Week and the May Balls
May Week, the University's end-of-year celebrations, and the formal college May Balls: what they are, how they began and when they usually take place.
What it is
May Week is the name the University of Cambridge gives to the celebrations that close the academic year. Its highlights include the May Bumps rowing races (see the Bumps), the college May Balls, June Events and garden parties. Despite the name, it is held in June.
A May Ball is a formal party held inside a college. Dress is black tie, or sometimes white tie, and the evening starts between about 6 and 9 pm and runs on well past dawn. Most are themed, and guests are offered food, drink and entertainment.
Where
The balls are held inside the colleges, and entry is by ticket. Several of the colleges, among them Trinity, Clare, St John's, Queens', Magdalene and Trinity Hall, back onto the Cam beside the Backs, so when a number of balls share a night the water reflects their lights and fireworks. Local punting companies run night-time tours so that boaters can watch the Trinity and St John's displays from the water.
Some colleges set their own style. Magdalene and Peterhouse hold white-tie balls, and Peterhouse has done so since 1892. Clare also hosts a ball. Some colleges hold a ball every year and others every second year, and several run a June Event instead of a ball.
History
Balls are thought to have grown out of the celebrations that followed success in the May Bumps, when the races were still held in May ahead of the examinations. The first ball counted as official was put on by a Trinity boat club in 1866, and St John's began its annual ball in 1888. In 1882 the balls and other festivities moved from May to June, after the examinations, and the name May Week stayed.
The Sunday after the end of Easter Term is known as Suicide Sunday, when exams are over and most results have not yet been published. A student-led campaign in 2015 encouraged the alternative name May Week Sunday.
When it usually happens
The week usually opens on the second Thursday in June, once exams are over. Ball dates and ticket sales are set by each college, so check the college's website for its programme.
Colleges and places in this guide
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Trinity College
College
Henry VIII's merged foundation, with the Great Gate, Great Court and Wren Library.
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St John's College
College
A Tudor college on both banks of the Cam, with a gate, a hall and the Bridge of Sighs.
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Magdalene College
College
A riverside college founded for Benedictine monks, home of Samuel Pepys's library and a Stirling Prize-winning new building.
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Peterhouse
College
Cambridge's oldest college, with a 13th-century hall, a Laudian chapel and a 1940s modernist court.
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Clare College
College
The second-oldest surviving college, with Cambridge's oldest bridge and a view of King's.
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The Backs
Landmark
The riverside college lawns and bridges behind the Cambridge colleges, listed as a Grade I historic park.