Graduation Ball 2007 - July 21st 2007

Tickets

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  How can I get a ticket? We're very sorry, but tickets for the Graduation Ball 2007 have all sold now. We are still accepting applications from graduating students, but these only guarantee your place in the first-come, first-served guest list (please see below).
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  How do I know if I've been allocated a ticket? We will charge your credit/debit card or cash your cheque when we allocate a ticket to you.
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  How can I get on the reserve list? If you are a graduating student, please send us the form from your Graduation Pack to the address on the top right of this page as soon as possible. If you don't have a graduation pack, please contact your academic department. We're sorry, but we are unable to offer reserve list places to non-graduating students this year due to high demand. The guest list operates on a first-come, first-served basis, and we will do our best best to allocate as many tickets to students as possible.
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  When will you tell me if I've been allocated a ticket from the reserve list? If we can allocate you a ticket, we will contact you as soon as we can using the contact details you provided in your tickets application form. Because tickets can come up at any time in the run-up to the event, you may only have a few days' notice, but we will do everything we can to give you as much advance notice as possible.
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  How do I collect my ticket? Please come into the Union, weekdays between 9am and 2pm. Please remember to bring your student ID card.
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  Can you post my ticket to me? We would prefer you to collect your ticket in person to prevent a ticket lost in the post causing you any problems. Please contact us using the contact details above if you absolutely cannot collect your ticket from the Union before the event.
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  Why don't you hold the ball somewhere bigger? Unfortunately, there aren't any venues in Portsmouth (or close by) with a higher capacity and an alcohol license; both Guildhall and the new Liquid and Envy have lower capacities than the Union. Due to the change in the way the Union is run in 2005, a ball on a green-field site would push the ticket cost towards £100 according to the last review we undertook and, when we asked them, very few students would pay that much for their Graduation Balls.
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  Did Graduating students not get tickets because returning students bought them? Not at all: you could only buy up to two tickets with the form from your graduation pack (sent by the University), or if you could provide proof you were in your final year.
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  I don't want my ticket - do I sell it or can I get a refund? Please bring the ticket back to the Union so we can pass it onto a student on the waiting list. Please note: we record your student number against your ticket number, and we may carry out checks on the door to make sure your ticket matches the student number we have on file for you. For this reason, please don't buy tickets from unauthorised resellers! (Only the Union is authorised to sell Graduation Ball tickets).
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  The back of my ticket has a space for guest information - does this mean two people can get in with one ticket? Sorry, it doesn't - this space is for non-student guests to provide us with their information. If you are a guest, or you are coming to the ball with a guest, please ensure this section of the ticket is filled out if it applies to you. Thankyou!

Dress code, door policy and safety

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  Do I have to wear black tie? No, but please dress to impress.
  More information here.
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  Can I wear religious or traditional dress instead? Of course.
  More information here.
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  Is there a dress code? We ask all our balls guests to dress appropriately for the occasion, so flip flops are probably off the menu.
  More information here.
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  Can we smoke at the Graduation Ball? Sorry, the entire Union building is non smoking in line with the change in the law on July 1st 2007. You can still smoke outside though!
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  What do I do if I see someone who's obviously drunk? To make sure they don't hurt themselves or other guests, please bring them to the attention of a member of staff who will ensure they are ok to stay in the venue, or make sure they get home safely if they are drunk. Please also remember it is against the law to be drunk on licensed premises such as the Union, so please drink responsibly and enjoy your night!
  More information here
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  What time does the Graduation Ball begin? Doors will open at 7.00pm.
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  What time is last entry? Last entry will be 1.00am.
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  What time will the Graduation Ball finish? The Graduation Ball 2007 will end at 3.00am (after 8 hours of live music, fun and entertainments). We think that's quite a long night!

The event

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  Where is the ball being held this year? In a completely re-dressed and themed Union, with entertainment spread out between Lux, CO2, the Waterhole, reception, and the park outside the Union, too.
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  What is the theme this year? James Bond - it is 2007, after all!
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  Who chooses the acts? The Graduation Ball acts are chosen by the Union's Sabbatical Officers with guidance from the Union's experienced team of staff advisors.
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  Who chooses the venue? Like the acts, the venue is chosen by the Union's Sabbatical Officers, again with guidance from the Union's experienced team of staff advisors.
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  When are acts booked? The Union books acts as far in advance as possible, but obviously booking too far in advance means the best acts might not be chosen. It's quite a tricky juggling act! Acts are usually booked between 3 and 6 months before the event.
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  What's on at the Grad Ball this year? Fire eaters, stilt walkers, a Hawaiian bar, the Big Band, Scratch Perverts, School of Rock, Soul Lounge, a steel band, resident DJs Kev Ray and DJ Mark, The Cuban Brothers, guest DJ DD, and much, much, much more! Please see our line-up page for full details.
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  What time will the acts be on stage? Please see our schedule page to find out who's on, where and when.
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  Your headline acts are on at the same time - why? While we know you're all sensible bods, we still have to take reasonable steps to prevent a crush of people trying to squeeze into one venue to see our headline acts. Because of this we try to have some overlap between headline acts coming on-stage at the Grad Ball venues.
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  Who organises the Graduation Ball? The Graduation Ball is organised jointly by UPSU - the charity run by the Sabbatical Officers - and UPEL - the company who run the Union's venues, bars, catering and regular entertainments. You can find out more about these two companies that make up your Union here.
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  Who runs the Graduation Ball? On the night, the Graduation Ball is run by UPEL - the company who run the Union's venues, bars, catering and regular entertainments. You can find out more about these two companies that make up your Union here.
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  Who did the draping/sound system/lighting? We use professional contractors at our balls to make the nights as special as possible. See who's helping out this year on our credits page.
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  Will there be food on the night? Yes! We have the legendary Mario, joined by a catering team, to provide you with plenty of fresh food. Find out more about food and drink at the Grad Ball here.
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  Will you be increasing bar prices on the night? No. We're proud of the fact that bar prices for drinks we serve at the Graduation Ball stay the same for drinks we serve during the rest of the year. Of course, we may also be offering some special drinks, including champagne and cocktails, at great prices too! Find out more about food and drink at the Grad Ball here.
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  When will the bars close on the night? We plan to keep the bars open until at least 2.00am, and some - for example the Lux bar - may stay open even later depending on demand and licensing restrictions in place on the night. Find out more about food and drink at the Grad Ball here.
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  What happens if it rains? Don't panic! We have a full back-up plan to get all the acts and DJs on stage indoors if it's raining. You might miss out on some of the other outdoor attractions for Health & Safety reasons, for example the inflatable games, but there will still be plenty on offer to make sure you have an enjoyable night. More importantly, it won't be too cramped inside the venues even with everyone indoors.

Photos and other things

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  How can I get a photo of the night? Photos by the official photographer can be found on their website - we will add their web address after the event. If you see a photo on UPSU.net (or on one of our Flickr or Facebook pages), you can freely save and print them for your own personal enjoyment, but please remember all photos are copyrighted unless otherwise stated.
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  How can I add my photos of the night to your gallery? My photos are much better than yours! You can add your photos to our Flickr or Facebook groups (or both!) - simply sign up to the sites (for free) and add your pics.
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  My photo is on your website. How come? In addition to our own event photographers, we also have photos submitted by other people at the ball. If there is a picture of you on the site, it's probably because you were snapped on the night - if you'd like it removed, please tell us here. If a photo you own the copyright to is on UPSU.net or one of our Flickr or Facebook groups, and you would like it removed, please contact us.
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  Are you on Facebook? Of course, right here! Please feel free to add your photos and discuss the night.
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  Are you on Flickr? What do you think?! Please feel free to add your photos and discuss the night.

Customer service and feedback

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  You've got something wrong on the website - how do I let you know? Please contact the webteam so they can get straight on to it.
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  How do I complain about something? Please see our complaints pages for more information.
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  Why did it take so long for you to announce the acts for the Grad Ball? We are *very* sorry - we've spent so much time organising the event that we left it all a bit late. We hope you'll agree that late is better than never, though.