Plans to hold a Dusk ÔÇÿtil Dawn Ball as the end-of-year event have finally been revealed, after much deliberation by students and sabbatical officers.
Dusk ÔÇÿtil Dawn, named appropriately for its 6pm start to 6am finish, will be held at Cardiff StudentsÔÇÖ Union with the backing of a ┬ú27,000 budget.
Finance and Commercial Officer, Nick Matthew said he is positive that the event will be different from any other held at the Union: ÔÇ£Huge amounts of resource is being spent on dressing the venue up, providing a whole host of different entertainments and trying to reflect exactly what students have asked for.
ÔÇ£We want to transform the StudentsÔÇÖ Union into a smart, unrecognisable venue which will cater perfectly for the studentsÔÇÖ last night in Cardiff. ÔÇØ
After it was announced last month that the end-of-year event would be held in the Students’ Union, elected officers and students formed an unofficial committee to decide how the budget would be spent.
With a budget five times that of Drink the Bar Dry, Dusk ÔÇÿtil Dawn will have a casino room, a cocktail bar, wandering performers, live music and free breakfast at sunrise for those who make it.
The discussed three-tier ticket system has been scrapped, and has been replaced with a familiar two- tier system, with privileges for the luminary tier.
Nick Matthew said that, as a ÔÇ£rewardÔÇØ, the 1,000 students who paid ticket deposits in December will be upgraded to the luminary tier, meaning they will receive VIP privileges at no extra charge
Students who hold luminary tickets will be entitled to a canap├® and champagne reception, exclusive access to the garden area and the Lounge, a free BBQ voucher, and fast-track bar access.
Until now, the end-of-year ball has been held at alternative venues such as CooperÔÇÖs Field, but the UnionÔÇÖs recurring financial losses on the event has forced them to bring it home.
Nick Matthew said: ÔÇ£Like I presented at the AGM, we expect to break even from this event. The move away from an all-day drinking event has reduced the predicted net bar profits, however this reduction should be offset by an increased expected attendance and slightly higher ticket prices.ÔÇØ
The committee decided that the budget will be spent on facilities and decorating the union, rather than on famous artists.
Rachael Main, 3rd year psychology student, said: ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm disappointed that there wonÔÇÖt be a festival atmosphere. I was hoping for some big names like weÔÇÖve seen in previous years.ÔÇØ
Students involved with the event planning, such as Flick Rew who joined the committee, are optimistic about the downscaled ball. She said: ÔÇ£If IÔÇÖm completely honest, the ball does not have the same budget as ones that used to be held in CooperÔÇÖs Field, but I think, with the budget we have and the ideas that arose in the meetings, it is going to be pretty spectacular.ÔÇØ
Tickets for the event will go on resale on March 26, with 500 luminary places left at the inflated price of £15, giving those who missed out a chance to upgrade; and standard tickets priced at £8.
Add Comment