In Pictures: May Ball returns as Cambridge students mark end of exams

Events were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Students from Cambridge University make their way home (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

Students at the University of Cambridge have celebrated the end of exams with the traditional May Ball.

The first Trinity May Ball was held in 1866, with the tradition quickly spreading to other colleges, but events were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Monday evening and long into the wee small hours of Tuesday morning, the tradition resumed with students dressed up for the occasion, although some were looking more dishevelled on the walk home after a night of revelry.

Students from Cambridge University make their way home (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

The festivities mark the end of the academic year at a May Ball in Trinity College (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

Students from Cambridge University are marking the end of studying for a while at least (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

Students make their way home (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

Organisers of this year’s 156th anniversary event said it would enjoy the “rich tradition” of “delightful music, inspiring fireworks and enchanting cuisine”.

Guests, who paid at least £330 for a sought-after double ticket to Monday’s event, were promised “Cambridge’s best Ball, an unrivalled showcase of revelry, unlimited food and drink, a stunning fireworks display, and a myriad of entertainments from chart-topping stars to world-class comedians to the finest classical and jazz musicians”.

Some revellers got a lift home (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

It was a mid-morning finish to the festivities for some (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

Students from Cambridge University (Joe Giddens/PA_ (PA Wire)

Studies are over for the year (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

General view of the Trinity May Ball (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

The ball has been held every year since 1866, apart from 1910, when King Edward VII died, during the Second World War between 1939 and 1945, and in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A series of balls held to mark the end of term are hosted by various colleges.

Despite now taking place in June they are still called the May Balls as that is when they were originally held.

Students enjoying the Trinity May Ball (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

General view of the Trinity May Ball (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

Students from Cambridge University take a break from the revelling (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)