Start With What Matters to You
The "best" May Ball is entirely subjective. What makes one person's perfect night is another person's nightmare. Before you start comparing events, ask yourself what you actually care about most:
- Budget - are you trying to keep costs down, or are you happy to splash out on a premium experience?
- Music - do you care about the headline act, or would you be happy with DJs and student bands?
- Food - is the quality and variety of food a top priority?
- Atmosphere - do you want a massive, festival-like experience, or something more intimate and elegant?
- Exclusivity - does prestige matter to you, or are you just looking for a fun night?
- Your friends - where are the people you want to spend the night with going?
That last point is more important than most people realise. A May Ball with your closest friends at a mid-tier college will almost always be more enjoyable than a premium ball where you barely know anyone.
By Budget
Under £120
At this price point, you're looking at June Events, soirees, and garden parties. These are smaller, more intimate affairs - typically 300-800 guests rather than 1,500-2,000. The entertainment lineup will be less extravagant, but you'll still get a full evening of food, drink, and music in a college setting. These events often have a more relaxed, friendly atmosphere that some people prefer to the larger balls.
Look for: Homerton June Event, Christ's Soiree, and smaller college garden parties. Check our balls directory for the latest pricing.
£150-200
This is where the full May Ball experience begins. Events in this range typically run from 9pm to 6am with multiple entertainment stages, a variety of food stalls, several bars, and at least one recognisable musical act. Colleges like Selwyn, Downing, Sidney Sussex, and Fitzwilliam often price in this bracket. These balls offer excellent value - you get 80% of the experience of the premium balls at 50-60% of the price.
£200-300+
The major balls. Trinity (£290), St John's (from £225 for college members, £280 external), Jesus (£222), Emmanuel (£210), Caius (£219), and Peterhouse (£245) are in this range. These are large-scale events with serious production budgets, well-known headline acts, and the full suite of entertainment. The biggest Cambridge balls have budgets that can run into the hundreds of thousands for a single night.
By Vibe
Formal & Prestigious
If you want the classic, traditional May Ball experience — champagne reception, a sense of grandeur, stunning college grounds — look at Trinity and St John's, with their enormous grounds and historic buildings. Peterhouse and Magdalene lean into white-tie tradition. These balls feel like stepping into another era.
Festival & Fun
If you want something closer to a festival atmosphere - big crowd energy, multiple stages, lots of variety - look at Jesus, Queens', and Emmanuel. Jesus College has some of the largest grounds in Cambridge, which allows for a sprawling festival-style layout. These balls tend to attract a younger, more energetic crowd and lean more heavily into contemporary music and late-night dancing.
Intimate & Elegant
If the idea of fighting through a crowd of 2,000 people doesn't appeal to you, consider the smaller balls. Selwyn, St Catharine's, Emmanuel (on its smaller years), and similar mid-sized colleges run balls for 500-1,000 guests. The grounds feel less crowded, you can actually get to the food stalls without queuing for 20 minutes, and the atmosphere is more personal. These are often the sleeper hits of May Week - people who attend them frequently say they had a better time than at the mega-balls.
Quirky & Creative
Some balls are known for creative theming and immersive experiences rather than raw scale. Colleges with smaller budgets often compensate with cleverness - elaborate themed rooms, interactive puzzle trails, or creative food concepts. If you value originality over sheer size, look at what the smaller balls are doing each year. Their themes and concepts are usually announced a few months before the event.
The Two-Ball Strategy
If your budget allows it and you have the stamina, going to two balls in the same May Week is a popular approach. The classic strategy is:
- One big ball - your flagship event, typically one of the larger, more expensive balls. This is your "main" night.
- One smaller event - a June Event, soiree, or garden party earlier in the week. This gives you a second formal evening at a fraction of the cost, and a chance to experience a different college.
Since most balls take place on different nights (typically spread across Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of May Week), you can do two events without back-to-back all-nighters. Leave at least one rest day between them. Two all-nighters in a row is technically possible but not recommended for humans.
The two-ball approach also hedges your bets. If one ball doesn't meet your expectations, you've got another chance. And experiencing two very different events - say, a 2,000-person Trinity ball and a 400-person Selwyn June Event - gives you a much richer picture of May Week as a whole.
For Alumni
If you're coming back as an alumnus, your options are slightly different. Not all balls have generous alumni allocations, and some run alumni ballots that can be competitive.
Your best bet is usually your own college's ball, where you'll have the strongest claim to alumni tickets. Beyond that, some balls are known for being alumni-friendly - check our Alumni Guide for specific advice on which balls have good alumni allocations and how to maximise your chances.
If You Can Only Go to One
If you're a student attending one ball during your time at Cambridge, or an alumnus coming back for a single night, here are some recommendations by type:
- If you want the quintessential experience: go to a major ball like Trinity, St John's, Emmanuel, or Jesus. These are the events that define May Week. You will get the full spectrum - headline acts, fireworks, fairground rides, comedy, food from every cuisine, and the sunrise survivors' photo. It's expensive, but it's the complete package.
- If you're on a budget: look at a mid-tier ball like Selwyn, Downing, or Sidney Sussex. These give you 80% of the experience at a significantly lower price point. Or consider a June Event for a more affordable but still memorable evening.
- If you hate crowds: choose a smaller ball with 500-800 guests. The atmosphere is completely different from the 2,000-person events. You can actually sit on the grass, walk between food stalls without queuing, and hear yourself think.
- If music is your priority: wait until the headline acts are announced (usually February-April) and choose based on the lineup. The bigger balls spend more on music, but some mid-tier balls occasionally book surprisingly good acts.
- If your friends are going somewhere: go with them. Seriously. The company matters more than the college. A good group of friends at a middling ball will beat a premium ball alone every time.
How Demand Affects Your Choice
May Ball tickets are competitive, and the biggest balls sell out fastest. This means your choice may partly be determined by what's actually available.
A few practical realities:
- Trinity and St John's external tickets sell out within minutes. Unless you're very quick or very lucky, don't count on getting these.
- The mid-tier balls are often easier to get tickets for, especially if you buy early. They may not sell out for hours or even days.
- June Events and soirees rarely sell out on the first day. You have more time to decide.
- Internal tickets are almost always easier to get than external ones. If you're a member of a college running a ball, buy internal tickets before looking elsewhere.
- Sign up for ticket alerts on our balls directory to be notified the moment tickets go on sale.
The pragmatic approach: decide on your top two or three choices in advance, and be ready to move quickly when tickets go on sale. Have a backup plan in case your first choice sells out before you can get a ticket.