Grad Ball Tickets fiasco :: Wessex Scene Online

Grad Ball Tickets fiasco

5th June 2008
Pete Bryant

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Gradball08

Tickets sold-out in record speed this year, but touting has left many students empty handed

Concerns have been raised once again about the way Southampton University Graduation Ball tickets are sold. Many students have voiced their anger yet again this year after being left without tickets for what is always an eagerly-awaited event.

Despite the Box Office opening at 11am on the morning of sales, some students began queing from 7am in hope of securing tickets for their preferred evening. However, within just thirty minutes, Wednesday and Thursday dining places had sold out, leaving students to scramble home in an attempt to purchase the few remaining online tickets.

As one third-year student commented: “Everyone should be entitled to go to their own Grad Ball,” however, the Guildhall has a capacity of just 1,200, meaning that it can only accommodate for around half the number of finalists over the two evenings. Students’ Union Events Manager, Daz Low, has defended the ticket sales procedure however: “It is very hard to predict how sales will go, meaning we can only base our plans on what happened last year.”

“Last year, tickets were still available until around three days before the event, so the addition of a third night was unnecessary” he continued.

A problem with one of Barclay’s online payment systems caused some students further problems as their payment was not processed, causing their tickets to be removed from their basket after ten minutes. “This was very regrettable, but it was Barclay’s problem and there was nothing we could do,” Mr Low added.

For several students, the desperate search or selling of tickets continues on the Sussed portal. However, Mr Low had some news which may come as a surprise to the growing numbers of student ‘touts’. He revealed that any tickets sold for more than their face value online will be invalidated and will not be handed out with the others in April.

There has been no shortage of student comments on the issue of the ticket sales. Students have questioned the decision to allow up to four tickets to be purchased for guests and students from other years. Low also responded to these concerns, saying: “Many students wanted to buy tickets for their housemates or friends who may have been in lectures, and the number offered reflected this.”

“It also helped cut down on queueing as one person could buy for others,” he added.

Many students believe that a solution to this problem is to use a similar system to the SUSU elections, where one ticket is assigned to every student. Others have looked to the example of other universities who simply hire a huge marquee and invite everyone to attend for free.

Whether changes will be made in subsequent years remains to be seen, but it is clear that a number of students are unhappy with the current system.