May Ball

A May Ball is a ball at the end of the academic year that takes place at any of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. They are elaborate and lavish formal affairs, requiring black tie or sometimes white tie, with ticket prices ranging from £89 at Robinson to as much as £470 for a pair of dining tickets at Peterhouse. The balls are held in the college gardens, starting around from 6-9 p.m. and lasting until well after dawn, with some colleges offering rides in balloons when the ball ends, and even breakfast in Paris, or, more traditionally, punting to Grantchester. "Survivors photographs" are taken of those who last until morning.