gair rhydd Monday June 13 2011 | freeword – Est. 1972 | Issue 954
In December, the Summer Ball was cancelled for making a loss of £58,775.80, last year. In May, the replacement May Ball made a loss of £30,000.
PHOTO: CHRIS GRIFFITHS
Balls.
Morgan Applegarth News Editor gair rhydd can exclusively reveal that the inaugural May Ball has made a loss of £30,000. The joint-held event between the Students’ Union and the University was the first of a three-part end of year celebration, organised in replacement of the Coopers Field Summer Ball. Last year’s Summer Ball was
cancelled due to making a record loss of nearly £60,000. Figures from the May Ball Review document reveal that a total income of £12,000 was made through ticket sales, bar sales and sponsorship, however expenditure totalled £42,000. Comments taken from the Ball Review say: “The decision was made by the [Elected] Officers to invest more money into the event, knowing that it might lose more money, to ensure that those who
went had a really good time. “The event was budgeted to lose money as a contingency so the loss won’t affect the overall budget for this year.” Approximately £10,000 was spent on acts, which included circus performers and musicians. A total of £9,232 was spent on set up costs for this year’s Ball, compared to £11,800 spent on set up for Coopers Field last year. A total of 850 tickets were sold, with 613 recorded entries, although
the number of attendees is believed to be more than this when taking into account guest lists. Tickets for the May Ball went on sale back in December, with a “Beat the VAT” package deal available to students, enabling them to purchase tickets for the Ball, Drink the Bar Dry and Cardiff University’s VIP area at this summer’s Beach Break Live for a reduced price. “The May Ball combo sales have driven sales in Drink the Bar Dry… and also our VIP Beach Break tick-
ets,” states the Review, continuing: “Even though the event itself lost money, it has driven some interest into these other events. “[The] loss was supported through existing departmental budgets.” The Elected Officer team came under criticism in the run-up to the Ball over the date of the event, which fell on the eve of the spring examination period.
The Summer Issue
Continued on page 3