Summer Ball sunset

Summer Ball is an exciting time of the year! A place for all students to come together to celebrate the end of the academic year (and the end of their degrees for many students!).

It is organised by the student’s union SUBU to fundraise for other activities throughout the next academic year, such as financially supporting clubs & societies.

It’s essentially a small festival, full of amazing music acts, great food and wonderful people.

Summer Ball Pres

The tickets are available to buy at different times of the year, but I’d recommend you get in there early to save money – your ticket includes return transport to the festival at Chapel Gate, so you don’t have to fork out for a taxi, as well as access to an afterparty at the Old Fire Station.

You’ll have to swap your ticket out for a wristband a few days before Summer Ball, and it’s best to do this as soon as you can because the queues can get super long. Oh, and it’s fancy dress, so get your costumes ready!

My friends and I went with a tropical theme, but we saw people dressed in such a wide variety of outfits – there’s a few fancy dress shops in Bournemouth, but if you’re looking for a more sustainable and cheaper way, then check out the local charity shops and Vinted, as they have so many options (trust me, I used to work in a charity shop and we had SO many outfits upstairs, so don’t be afraid to ask what costumes they have!).

ABBA Gold

So, how did it go? Well, for me, the festivities started at 1pm. My friends and I booked out our accommodations common room so we could have some drinks and get everyone together (you don’t want to lose your friends on this day!).

Around 3pm we took the bus over to Chapel Gate, although we had to queue a lot at security so if this will bother you, make sure you get there early. Then, we got ourselves some drinks (3 VK’s for £10, quite decent for a festival!) and headed over to the Main Tent for Caity Baser and some ABBA Gold, as well as a Harry Styles vs Taylor Swift party. ABBA Gold was honestly incredible; everyone was singing and dancing along, definitely a core memory!

Next, we got ourselves some food and explored what else the festival had to offer. There were some rides, as well as booths giving out free sweets and selling different drinks to the main bars. We checked out all the tents and decided to settle on We Broke Free for the Bae-Sic takeover and drag queen performances.

Survivors Photo

Honestly, this was so much fun that we lost track of time here and spent the entire evening in one tent! Eventually, we headed back to Lansdowne for the afterparty before finally heading to the beach for the survivors sunrise photo at 5am – try and choose a good spot for the photo, because it can be impossible to find yourselves after! Of course, to end the day we (somehow!) found a kebab shop open at 6am for some final food before sleeping the entire day.

Overall, I would say Summer Ball is an incredible experience and I highly recommend you go. Make sure to get some good costumes, buy a lot of glitter, arrive early (ish) and of course have fun!

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