Commemoration ball

A Commemoration ball is a formal ball held by one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in the 9th week of Trinity Term, the week after the end of the last Full Term of the academic year, which is known as "Commemoration Week". Commemoration balls are held by different colleges each year, following a cycle by which each college holds a ball every three years.^[1]

Commemoration Week is so known because of the ceremonies in commemoration of the benefactors of the university that are held then, namely the Commemoration Day sermon formerly held (until 2006) on the Sunday, and the Encaenia ceremony (where the annual Creweian Oration in honour of benefactors is given) and garden party on the Wednesday of that week. Commemoration Week was formerly one of two occasions when balls were traditionally held, the other being Eights Week, the 5th week of Trinity term when the Summer Eights rowing races occur. Eights balls are nowadays comparatively rare.

Definition

There is no formal definition of a Commemoration ball, but the usual Oxford convention is to refer only to the larger, triennial balls as Commemoration balls. The dress code is usually white tie. Many other colleges hold smaller events during Commemoration Week that they call summer balls or parties rather than Commemoration balls. These are usually held on an annual or irregular basis, and are usually black tie. Merton College holds a triennial winter ball.^[2]

Recent and upcoming balls

In the past, Commemoration balls were held "night after night"^[3] by different colleges during Commemoration Week. With many colleges now holding smaller annual summer balls, Commemoration balls are now held by only some of the larger colleges, who still follow the traditional triennial cycle. Oriel College hosts a ball in the first year of the three-year cycle, and until recently Magdalen College also did. However Magdalen College cancelled their ball in 2015 at the last minute downgrading to a smaller affair. Currently, in the second year, there are Commemoration balls held by New College and The Queen's College. In the third year, there are now four colleges with this honour (Worcester College, Christ Church, Trinity College, St. John's College).

The 2005 Christ Church Commemoration ball was the first to be held by that college for fifteen years because of an incident at the 1990 ball that led to the Governing Body suspending the ball and replacing it with an annual summer party until 2005. Until 1990 the three great Oxford choral foundations of Magdalen College (first year), New College (second year) and Christ Church (third year) held their "white tie" Commemoration Balls in consecutive years on a triennial basis, each being widely regarded as the most prestigious ball being held in Oxford in that year, but the 1990 incident at Christ Church upset the tradition as various other colleges claimed Christ Church's (third year) slot, and continue to do so after the Christ Church Ball was reinstated in 2005. The cancellation of Magdalen College's (first year) Commemoration Ball in 2015, and its reinstatement in the "New College" (second) year of 2016, completed the break with tradition.

In 2013, Balliol College held a Commemoration ball to mark the 750th Anniversary of the College's foundation, the 2023 Commemoration ball will be only the third Commemoration held at the College since 1969.^[4] Similarly, the commemoration ball hosted by Worcester College on 27 June 2014 was the highlight of celebrations to mark the college's tercentenary.^[5] In 2024, Pembroke College held a Commemoration ball celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the College's foundation for which general admission tickets sold out in 12 seconds.^[6]

2003 — Magdalen College
2004 — New College
2005 — Trinity College, Worcester College, Christ Church, St. John's College
2006 — Magdalen College
2007 — New College
2008 — Trinity College, Worcester College, Christ Church, St. John's College
2009 — Magdalen College, Oriel College
2010 — New College, Wadham College
2011 — Trinity College, Worcester College, Christ Church, St. John's College
2012 — Magdalen College, Oriel College
2013 — New College,^[7] Balliol College
2014 — Trinity College,^[8] Worcester College,^[9] Christ Church,^[10] St. John's College,^[11] Merton College,^[12] Exeter College^[13] Hertford College^[14]
2015 — Oriel College, ~~Magdalen College~~ (Cancelled)
2016 — New College,^[15] Magdalen College,^[16] The Queen's College^[17]
2017 — Trinity College,^[18] St John's College, Worcester College, Christ Church, Corpus Christi College
2018 — Oriel College^[19]
2019 — New College, The Queen's College, ~~Magdalen College~~ (Cancelled again)
2022 — New College, The Queen's College, Christ Church, Trinity College
2023 — Balliol College, Corpus Christi College, Magdalen College, Oriel College, St John’s College, Worcester College
2024 — Pembroke College^[20]
2025 — Balliol College, The Queen's College, Wadham College, New College, St. Hilda's College, Somerville-Jesus College (Joint formal)

Performances

Commemoration ball organising committees generally seek to secure private performances from leading entertainers; some notable performances are listed below.