How to run a Cambridge May Ball
Free guides written from direct experience on Cambridge May Ball committees. From first budget to final handover.
Start here
The four guides every new committee should read first. They cover the foundations that everything else builds on.
The Complete Guide to Running a Cambridge May Ball
Committee structure, timeline, licensing, suppliers, ticketing, and night-of operations. Start here.
Read guideBudgeting & Financial Planning
Template budgets, working-capital planning, and how to avoid the classic financial pitfalls.
Read guideTicketing Strategy
Release timing, ticket tiers, anti-touting, transfers, and policies that survive release-day pressure.
Read guideSecurity, Access Control & Anti-Crashing
Wristbands, ID checks, queue design, porter coordination, and the classic Cambridge edge cases.
Read guideDelivering the event
The practical details of food, entertainment, and compliance that make or break the guest experience on the night.
Food, Drink & Dietary Accommodation
How to feed large groups well, handle dietary requirements at scale, and avoid the 3am food failure.
Read guideEntertainment & Production
Headliners, student acts, stages, power, sound, and where production spend actually moves the guest experience.
Read guideCompliance, Licensing & Safety
TENs, insurance, welfare, risk registers, food safety, and the college governance reality.
Read guideVAT for May Ball Committees
Registration thresholds, when you need to charge VAT, reclaiming input VAT, and common mistakes.
Read guidePositioning and growth
How to market your ball, compete for guests in a consolidating market, and think beyond the current year.
Directories, templates, and handover
Practical files and reference material to save your committee time.
Supplier Directory
A practical directory of the firms and categories committees repeatedly need to source.
Read guideCommittee Handover Guide & Template
Documentation that prevents next year's committee from rebuilding everything from zero.
Read guideDownloadable templates
Budget spreadsheet and handover document, ready to use.
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