Statement: Summer Ball 2020

It is with real sadness that we have made the difficult decision to cancel Summer Ball 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

summer ball
It is with real sadness that we have made the difficult decision to cancel Summer Ball 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Despite our hope that the situation will have improved by early June, it would be practically impossible for us to carry out the necessary planning and infrastructure work that is involved with an event of this size.

SU President Jack O’Neill commented: “I know that this is going to be disappointing news for lots of you, and it is with a heavy heart that we have to make this decision - I myself was looking forward to seeing Founder's come alive for my final Summer Ball, and enjoy celebrating with you all. 

“However, we can't look beyond what is happening across the globe right now and the response to coronavirus rightfully takes priority over Summer Ball. It is undeniable that once this passes, and it will pass, we are all going to need something to get back together for and when that time comes, we hope you'll be there.”

We have already started to process refunds to all those who had pre-ordered a ticket to this year’s event and expect these to be back in accounts within the next 3-5 working days but it could take up to 28 days to be received so please do bear with us.

For final year students, we understand that Summer Ball is an important date in the calendar, marking the completion of your time at Royal Holloway. Our commitment to you is that any student graduating this year will have the opportunity to purchase a ticket to Summer Ball 2021 during a priority pre-sale period alongside other finalists next year. If you’d like to be kept up-to-date on developments with regards to this, please sign up to our mailing list. We’ll only contact you through this list regarding Summer Ball and nothing else.

Finally, we are also investigating the possibility of some form of celebratory event to sit alongside your graduation. Once more details about graduation are available, we’ll let you know of our plans.

Summer Ball 2020 FAQs

I purchased a pre-order ticket, what will happen to this?

All tickets will be refunded with our team working on this right now. These refunds will be issued back to the original payment card and should take 3-5 days to process but it can take up to 28 days to clear from our payment provider.

I purchased a discounted ticket and I’m graduating; will I be able to carry this over to 2021?

Unfortunately, this won’t be possible. All tickets will be refunded, and you will have to purchase a new ticket to Summer Ball 2021.

When will Summer Ball 2021 take place?

We’re currently working towards Friday 4 June 2021 as the date for next year’s event, but won’t be able to announce the date for certain for a while.

Why is the event not just being postponed?

Delivering an event of this scale takes months of planning and preparation which is not possible at this moment in time. It's becoming increasingly clear that nationally there is real uncertainty about when we might be through this crisis, which makes setting a new date an impossible task.