Rag ball ticket sales hit by ’steep’ prices

Many students were forced to miss out on this year’s Rag ball as a result of ticket prices.

While some considered €25 a bargain for a day of live music, many other students were angered by the price.

One student who did not wish to be named said: “I had really been looking forward to the Rag Ball but €25 for a ticket was just far too steep, there’s no way I could have afforded that and I know many other people that were in the same situation as me.”

They added: “The week is supposed to be about the student body coming together to raise money for charity. What’s the point of it all when students couldn’t even afford a ticket to the ball?”

There were mixed reactions from students who did manage to attend the Rag week’s main function.

Accounting and Finance student Ian McGlynn thought the event was good overall but he acknowledged that it was clear the impact the current economic climate was having on students.

“The bands themselves were very entertaining and I personally thought the whole festival worked well. It was also a good bonus that people could come and go throughout the day,” he said.

“The event organisers did their best and it was unfortunate due to the current economic climate that it wasn’t as good as it probably could’ve been.”

The event did not sell out this year and there was somewhere in the region of a thousand tickets left over, resulting in the festival having to lose the events planned for outside. Most of the old bar also remained shut for the festival, and some bands found themselves playing to crowds of barely a handful of students.

However, The Coronas who drew one of the biggest crowds of the night were happy with the crowd numbers despite their early performance time.

Danny O’Reilly, the lead vocalist of the band, told the College View: “It was really great we didn’t think we’d get a big crowd cause we were on so early but we were delighted.”

A chemical and pharmaceutical science student expressed his disappointment to the College View over this year’s event saying that, “last year’s event was far better. The SU sought out more society activity and Moxegen kicked ass.”

They added: “This year really seemed thrown together at the last minute. I was not very impressed with it at all.”

SU president Alan Keegan said it was clear that students were encountering financial difficulties this year.

“It seems that students have less money than even last semester and that was reflected in the ticket sales,” he said.

Another issue at the ball for some students was the fact that strobe lighting remained despite students lobbying SU officials for its exclusion.

A number of students were angered by the strobe lighting that was in place in the Venue and were forced to miss out on performances from many of the big names that performed there at the Life-Wired festival.

One disgruntled student expressed their anger over the fact nothing has yet been done about this form of lighting.

They told the College View: “There were no warnings that it was there and after paying €25 to get in it was very disappointing not to be able to enjoy the bands.”

For student sufferers of photosynthesis epilepsy it means missing out on most events during the college year.

It is not yet clear how much money has been raised from the week but it is not expected that the €15,000 target for this year’s Rag week will end up being reached.

While at the other colleges…

UCD - By Samuel Hamilton

UCD Students’ Union have announced that X Factor twins Jedward - who are also set to play the Helix in DCU next month - will be one of the three headline acts at the UCD ball.

While the other headline acts for the event are yet to be announced, the UCDSU ents officer, Mike Pat O’Donoghue, told the University Observer that concertgoers have nothing to worry about.

O’Donoghue says that the other two headline acts are “bigger than Jedward” and that he is “very happy with how things have gone and hopes to release more acts after the Easter break.”

Taking place on April 23, the UCD ball will for the first time be Europe’s biggest private party with 8,000 tickets being sold – 500 more than the Trinity ball.

Tickets are on sale now for €35. A UCD student can accompany up to three non-UCD students to the event.

Trinity - By Sorcha Jowitt

Tickets to the Trinity ball sold out in four hours last month, with queues stretching around campus from the early hours in a search for one of the 7,500 tickets - despite the €78 price tag.

Gracing the five stages - during the last week of lectures, known as Trinity Week, on April 16 - are acts such as Dizzee Rascal, Mystery Jets, Mr Hudson, Uffie, Jape and Digitalism.

Over the years, the Trinity ball has seen many infamous acts enter into the university’s cobbled courtyard, including The Script and Calvin Harris who headlined last year.

The Trinity ball is a black tie affair, with a tuxedo or evening dress essential for those attending the festival style night.

According to a Trinity News Talking Eds podcast, while the prices of the tickets is seen as quite a steep price for students to pay just to see a few bands play, you pay for the whole night not necessarily just the line up.