Medwards Garden Party canceled due to low interest rate

The Murray Edwards Garden Party (MEGP) has been cancelled, following committee concerns over low ticket sales.

In an email sent to all Medwards students, the chair of the MEGP committee announced the “difficult decision” to cancel the event, due to “unprecedented low demand for tickets.” Students were also reassured in the email that their tickets would be refunded.

The event, which was scheduled to take place June 16, had to be held indoors for about half the night due to bad weather last year. A student familiar with the matter said University that this was a factor in low ticket sales this year.

Many of these events have also been criticized for their high prices compared to the cost of living.

The committee had also sent emails to several other May balls attempting to advertise tickets with special offers over the past week, as well as advertising their event on Camfess.

Talk to University, one Medwards student attributed the cancellation to students not wanting to attend the new colleges’ May balls. A joint event in June between St Edmund’s and Lucy Cavendish Colleges was canceled last year due to poor ticket sales.

In their statement, the MEGP chairs said the cancellation was “not a decision we took lightly, and it is certainly not something we ever wanted to do” and added that they “hope your week in May is still full of fun parties and events”.

Talk to University, one student with a ticket to the event said: “The cancellation of MEGP is really disappointing to me. The food and drink options had just been released and my friends and I were all very excited to go. I imagine it’s even worse for people who only bought Medwards tickets and therefore don’t have any other June events to attend.

“It’s also a painful reminder of how hill colleges like Medwards are generally seen as ‘inferior’ to central colleges, which don’t seem to have the same problems selling tickets. “It’s a real shame as Medwards Gardens is beautiful and the committee has worked really hard this year,” they continued.

The MEGP committee declared University: “We believe last year’s rain did not impact demand this year, as the event still went ahead, only slightly delaying registration. Rather, there is a cost of living crisis that means students are choosing a “more expensive/more prestigious” prom rather than attending a few different events.

Prices at MEGP have been kept to a minimum and (it) prides itself on remaining one of the most affordable events of the May week,” they added.

Murray Edwards College has been contacted for comment.