Univ students have complained about the selling of ‘VIP tickets’’ for University College’s black-tie ball in Trinity term.
VIP tickets, given to students who purchased tickets before the end of Michaelmas, work as a queue jump and grants the holder access to a VIP tent and a goodie bag with ball memorabilia. These VIP tickets are the same price as regular tickets, £80, but this has not prevented some accusing the Committee of elitism.
One Univ fourth-year claimed that the selling of VIP tickets “only serves to create some sort of divide in an event that is supposed to celebrate the college.” He continued, “It’s just pointless — a ball isn’t Park End and I don’t see any reason to differentiate between different types of tickets.”
He also added his feeling that the Ball President “has decided that there needs to be some sort of sense of exclusivity.”
Univ Ball Marketing Manager Joseph Saxby said that the VIP tickets have a practical role, explaining, “The purpose of the VIP ticketing scheme was to encourage those in Univ who were already planning to buy tickets to make their purchase before Christmas so that the Committee had the capital to begin signing contracts with production companies, etc.”
Saxby stated that their merit was proven by a 75% increase in ticket sales from the same time two years ago, when the last Univ Ball was held.
He added that some Cambridge balls charge more for similar extras. For its May Ball, Trinity College in Cambridge offers “VIP tickets for an exclusive champagne reception and early entry to the Ball”. These cost an additional £70 for two, and are a step down from dining tickets, which are an extra £130 per couple. A pair of basic tickets begins at £300.
Others claimed that, however practical the idea of awarding special tickets to early purchasers may be, the idea of creating a separate class of tickets, and the label VIP, are intrinsically elitist.
The Jekyll & Hyde-themed ball, scheduled for Friday 21st June, faces stiff competition, with Balliol and Queen’s both hosting their own balls that night.
Balliol’s white-tie 750th Anniversary Commemoration Ball, with regular tickets priced at £195 and dining tickets at £235, has already sold out.
Univ promises “a night of contrasts as the college is transformed into two areas inspired by the classic novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Aristocratic, prim, and proper Victorian society will be juxtaposed with the curious, the mysterious, and the bizarre.”
