Sidney Sussex has become the first college to cancel its May Ball in 2026, following a slew of May Ball cancellations in 2025.

In an email sent to all college students this morning (06/11), Sidney Sussex’s Domestic Bursar said: “We understand that this will be disappointing but hope that you will have ample time to make alternative plans for May week.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to the planning and organisation of the event before it was cancelled. We appreciate the hard work, time and commitment invested.”

While the College held a May Ball last in 2024, this year’s cancellation comes after Sidney’s 2025 May Event was cancelled due to “low ticket demand”. The College has said that it will organise an event in June 2027 and that information about joining the committee will be provided early in Lent term.

One Sidney fourth-year told Varsity: “I assumed it was gone for good after last year, so this isn’t necessarily a surprise. I feel sorry for all those who had planned to go with friends, and it’s a shame there will be less [sic] May Ball job opportunities. Although I think I’ve had my fill of Sidney events through the years, I feel for the Freshers.”

A third-year student at Sidney told Varsity: “It’s just disappointing that it turned out this way. As a student, and someone who went to Sidney May Ball in 2024, it was genuinely the highlight of my year, it was the most amazing experience.”

She continued: “Sidney is just known to be a place that knows how to throw a really good party […] I’m devastated to not have the ball this year.”

Explaining the reasoning behind the cancellation, the committee said: “We were incredibly lucky to have a passionate and committed wider team. However, we ultimately didn’t have enough people with the experience and availability needed across key leadership roles to deliver the scale of event we had envisioned.

“With the growing legal, financial, and logistical challenges that May Balls across Cambridge are now facing, we felt it wouldn’t be fair to push ahead without the right executive structure in place. After careful discussion, and with the full support of the College, we made the difficult but responsible decision to cancel this year’s Ball to ensure that any future event is set up for success.”

The cancellation follows major challenges for May Week events last academic year. Clare May Ball and Emmanuel June Event were cancelled, while Robinson’s May Ball was downsized to a “mega bop”.

At the time, Clare’s committee blamed “the changing economic landscape” for the cancellation, while Emmanuel’s committee cited “lower-than-expected internal tickets sales”.

In August, Sidney May Ball launched a survey to find out what students wanted from the event. Its website still reads: “We need to know what YOU want! What are the most insane ‘there’s no way they can pull that off’ ideas you can think of? Try us!”

“We’re going BIG. Sidney Sussex May Ball is going to make history,” the site continued.

Despite having to cancel its May Week event twice in a row, Sidney said that it did not “see this as the end of the Sidney May Ball, but as a chance to come back stronger”.

The committee continued: “With College’s support, we’re exploring how best to build a more sustainable model for future years, whether that means recruiting a new committee later this year or laying early groundwork for a full return in 2027. Our goal is to make sure the next Sidney May Ball is everything our students deserve and more.”