All tickets to Clare College’s May Ball have been recalled by its organising committee following technical difficulties with the website.

Tickets initially went live at 8am on Wednesday, with the website crashing completely within approximately half an hour of the launch. Those who had managed to secure tickets in this period were then emailed an apology, with the Head of Ticketing Johnny Tam saying the Committee wanted to “offer my sincerest apology for the disruption and confusion caused by this morning’s computer failure”. Tam continued by saying that the technical problems were “an unacceptable failure”, adding: “I apologise unreservedly.”

Tam went on to say to those who had originally purchased tickets: “However, GOOD NEWS! I can confirm that your ticket(s) application was processed successfully.”

However, later the same day, Clare’s May Ball Committee announced on Facebook that they would recall all of the tickets they had sold, writing that “due to the multitude of issues that we have encountered over the last 15 hours with our ticketing system we have made the decision to recall all tickets distributed so far.

“We offer our sincerest apologies for the issues and confusion that have arisen today. We will be issuing a full and complete statement tomorrow at 6pm addressing all the problems faced today and explaining our new ticketing policy and when the resale will take place. Any payments made to date will be refunded in full.”

One Facebook user commented: “you have literally caused so much inconvenience”. When another user responded saying: “that’s what this is trying to solve…show a little gratitude”, the original commenter replied, saying they “sympathise[d] with those who didn’t manage to get tickets”, but that the “whole process has been little more than farcical”.

Another commenter said: “the problem was fairly obvious from the start – the ticket allocation system adopted by every other may ball was probs [sic] the way to go...”

Other comments on the page were more supportive, with one saying: “Thank you guys. Bold decision, but in no doubt appreciated by almost all of Clare.”

Clare May Ball, which has a theme of ‘the Orient Express’, costs £152 to students from other colleges, inviting guests to experience “the sounds, sights, and smells associated with this love-letter to luxury travel will blend seamlessly with the best in modern music and entertainment.”

Clare May Ball will take place on 13th June 2016.