Summer Ball 2023 is taking place in and around the breathtaking grounds of the magnificent Grade I listed Founder’s Building. The Festival Stage is situated in South Quad offering an enclosed festival experience with Founder’s Building providing a stunning backdrop. All other activities and entertainment zones will take place outside along the South Façade and on Founder’s Square.
Doors open at 8pm with some exciting surprises for those of you who get there early on. Curfew for the event will be at 6am straight after we take our Survivors’ Photo. That’s 10 hours of fun for those of you who want to party hard!
12pm (midday), Friday 28 April.
Yes – early bird tickets (£45) will be available from 12pm (midday) on Friday 28 April. Once they sell out, further reduced-price tickets will be available at 1pm (£55) and 2pm (£65) before General Sale (£75) starts at 3pm. This year, we have various phases where you can purchase your tickets and cash in on some great value-for-money incentives. Essentially, the earlier you purchase, the more perks you'll receive including some great exclusive extras. See what’s included under each phase on the Home page.
General Sale and all guest tickets are £75. However, there are a limited number of reduced-price tickets available on launch day (Friday 28 April), starting from Early Bird at £45. General Sale and guest tickets purchased after Friday 18 May will incur an additional £5 charge.
Your ticket gets you entry to the event which features a range of huge performances and fun attractions, including access to the fairground rides. You’ll also bag a souvenir wristband and pocket-sized programme. Remember the earlier you buy, the more you’ll get for your money! Buy on launch day (Friday 28 April) and you'll bag a gold wristband giving you a welcome drink, early fairground ride access, a Survivors' Breakfast roll, and five lucky dip entries where you could win back the price of your ticket. Check under each phase on the Home page to see which perks are included!
As a Royal Holloway student, you can purchase your ticket plus a maximum of three guest tickets. Guests can be either Royal Holloway students or friends/family from home.
All tickets purchased online are automatically assigned to your personal account. You will need your College Card with you at wristband exchange in order to collect your wristband(s) which act as your ticket for the event.
Wristband collection will take place on Thursday 1 June and Friday 2 June. The exact times and location will be emailed to you before the event.
We strongly encourage you to collect your wristband(s) on Thursday 1 June - the day prior to the event. If you are unable to make this day, wristbands can be collected on Friday 2 June up until 11pm (last entry) from the SU ticket office outside the Students’ Union. Please remember that any guests will need to be present when collecting wristbands as they are secured at the point of exchange.
Students must bring their Royal Holloway College Card and photographic proof of age ID (driving licence, passport, PASS card) to the event for identification purposes. Guests who are not Royal Holloway students must bring photographic proof of age ID (driving licence, passport, PASS card).
Yes, your guest(s) must be present with you when you collect your wristbands. We’ll need to take down their details and place the wristband on their arm at the time of exchange.
We are mixing things up this year and have worked hard to provide a revealing entry to the site via the Windsor Gap (the walkway between the Union Shop and the Windsor Building). Our staff will check your wristbands and do the necessary body searches for your safety before allowing you entry to the spectacle that is SB23.
Doors open at 8pm and we advise attendees to enter the event early to ensure the best Summer Ball experience. Last entry is at 11pm while re-admission to the event will begin from 3am via the same entrance.
Beyond the great music, food, and drinks, we offer loads of other experiential activities for you to enjoy. We’ll be bringing you a night to remember with fairground rides and traditional games, as well as some additional activities which will be announced every Friday between launch day and the event. Keep your eyes peeled.
There are two music stages and three entertainment zones full of activities for you to enjoy.
Yes – and it’s completely free of charge! We want you to have a hands-free experience to enjoy dancing to the best music, tasting the best food and sipping the best drinks. You’ll find the cloakroom in the Windsor Building just after you enter the event.
All our bars and food outlets at the event will be cashless. Payment is accepted via debit/credit card only.
Yes! All fairground rides are included in the cost of your ticket, and you can jump on as many times as you want throughout the night. Access to the fairground for Gold Wristband holders is from 8pm-6am while Blue Wristband holders get access from 9pm-6am.
As a licensed event we are unfortunately unable to allow you to bring in your own food or drink. We have made sure to provide an exciting selection of drinks from several bar outlets, and an amazing selection of street food delicacies that cater for all dietary requirements.
The following articles must not be brought within the site – food, drink, animals, knives, illegal substances, nitrous oxide (laughing gas), fireworks, smoke canisters, air-horns, flares, weapons, dangerous or hazardous items, laser devices, bottles, glass items (including perfume and mirrors), cans, poles, umbrellas, and any article that might be used as a weapon and/or compromise public safety. You may be searched; any items deemed a danger to others may be confiscated by staff and/or you may be refused entry. Right of admission is reserved by the venue management. Yes to coats (we’d advise bringing a rain coat or poncho if rain is forecast); yes to camera/phone; yes to flat shoes; yes to dress to impress; yes to smiles and good vibes; yes to your best dance moves.
Due to capacity management, we do not permit re-entry into the venue before 3am.
If you happen to lose a personal item, please speak to a staff member. They should be able to transmit a radio message to all staff and ask if anyone has handed in your item. Alternatively, if you have found something, we kindly ask you to pass it to our staff at the cloakroom in Windsor Building. They will then pass it over to our Security team for safekeeping. For any lost property enquiries post-event, please email helpdesk@su.rhul.ac.uk.
If you make it to 6am, you deserve to be celebrated! We’ve made it Summer Ball tradition to gather all you hardy souls (and our amazing staff members) in front of the Festival Stage for the official Survivors’ Photo. This then gets posted on social media and becomes part of history, providing the memory of a lifetime for our leavers.
If you purchased a ticket on launch day, you’ll receive a Survivors’ Breakfast voucher when you collect your wristband. This can be redeemed for a breakfast bap at 6am, after the Survivors’ Photo has been taken. Please note this is non-transferable and can only be redeemed from 6am-6:30am at the dedicated stall on your way out of the event.
Just like our Union Venue and Medicine club night events, Summer Ball is restricted to those who are 18+ years of age. All attendees and guests are required to provide proof of age if asked by the door staff, and you can be refused entry if you are unable to do this.
If your ban expires before the day of the event (Friday 2 June) then you will be able to purchase a ticket, but not until your current ban has expired. Please note, you may not purchase a ticket for any person(s) who will still have a ban in force on the night of the event.
While there are no COVID entry requirements, we ask that you follow the current NHS guidance with regards to staying at home and avoiding contact with other people following a positive test.
Tickets are non-transferable and cannot be sold on. Any student selling or attempting to sell a ticket above face value will be subject to disciplinary action and risk being banned from the Students’ Union premises and activities in line with our Code of Conduct.
All sales are final, and refunds are not available on tickets once they have been purchased (including duplicates or purchases made in error, tickets bought for the wrong event or non-attendance due to personal choice, illness or injury). Further details can be found in our Purchasing T&Cs.
In the unlikely event that the entire event is cancelled by the SU, refunds will be made available to everyone who has purchased a ticket in advance, at face value. If an event cannot take place or is delayed because of circumstances beyond our reasonable control, we will not be liable for any direct or indirect losses incurred by you or your guests. Examples of such circumstances include (without limitation): war, terrorism, civil commotion, fire, flood, adverse weather, natural disaster, act of God, outbreak of disease, epidemic, pandemic, any strike or labour dispute, interruption or failure of any utility service, any government order, rule regulation, or action by a government or public authority. Further details can be found in our Purchasing T&Cs.
Putting on an event the size of Summer Ball isn’t cheap. We have to factor in the costs of the acts performing, the infrastructure, and the staff who are required to work the event. As a registered charity, we must ensure that our costs are at least covered, with any surplus reinvested back into services for students. Any money you spend with us at events such as Summer Ball ultimately comes back to you, funding things like clubs and societies, support for course reps, and vital services including our Advice Centre.
As part of a routine review of health and safety measures, the University informed us that we wouldn’t be able to use North Quad for this year’s event. We have worked hard to adjust the sitemap and ensure we can still provide an outstanding Summer Ball experience, including a revamped Founder’s Square with a covered tent area that will provide more of a festival feel (and some much-welcomed shelter in the event of any rain).
As your Students’ Union, we aim to ensure all our events are accessible for as many of you as possible. Visit our Accessibility page for further information on the support we’ve put in place to ensure you can enjoy the event.
The Students’ Union takes a zero-tolerance approach to the spiking of drinks and will work closely with the University and Police to push for prosecution with the full force of the law at every available opportunity. To read about our initiatives and the additional measures we have in place to keep you safe at our events, please visit our Spiked campaign page.
If you think you or a friend has been spiked, please immediately inform a member of the bar staff, Good Night Out Crew, or Security team who will assist you. For further guidance on the steps you should take, please visit our Spiked campaign page. If you didn’t report an incident on the night but suspect you may have been spiked, please email venues@su.rhul.ac.uk with the details so that we can investigate accordingly.
As a Students’ Union, we believe that we have the duty to challenge harassment and violence at any instance and encourage all students to report it. Sexual harassment is not just about physical touching or groping, it can be applied to any unwanted and persistent behaviour of a sexual nature. If you experience any form of sexual harassment at any of our events, you can report the incident to any member of the bar staff, Good Night Out Crew, or Security team. The situation will be investigated immediately, and appropriate action taken. The staff will also advise you if you want to follow up on the complaint. If you feel able to talk to someone about it or you’d like further support, you can book an appointment with one of our advisors by visiting the Union Helpdesk or emailing advice@su.rhul.ac.uk. Alternatively, the University provides free counselling services to support you. Please email counselling@royalholloway.ac.uk.
Try following the steps provided in our login guide. If you’re still struggling after following the guide, please email marketing@su.rhul.ac.uk stating your student number and the error message you have encountered.
If you’ve got a question or need to chat to us about access requirements, we’ve got you covered below.
Advertise your brand and get your message out to 3500 attendees (not to mention all of our additional social media followers and website visitors).
Check our Summer Ball 2023 sponsorship pack to see what we can do for you.