A Commemoration ball is a formal

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...

held by one of the colleges of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in the 9th week of

Trinity Term Universities Trinity term is the third and final term of the academic year at the University of Oxford,Encaenia Encaenia ( ) is an academic or sometimes ecclesiastical ceremony, usually performed at colleges or universities. It generally occurs some time near the annual ceremony for the general conferral of degrees to students. The word is from Latin, mean ...

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 Eights Week, also known as Summer Eights, is a four-day regatta of bumps races which constitutes the University of Oxford's main Colleges of the University of Oxford, intercollegiate Sport rowing, rowing event of the year. The regatta takes ...

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 White tie, also called full evening dress or a dress suit, is the most formal evening Western dress code. For men, it consists of a black tail coat (alternatively referred to as a dress coat, usually by tailors) worn over a white dress shir ...

. 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 Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal ...

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...

holds a triennial winter ball.

Recent and upcoming balls

In the past, Commemoration balls were held "night after night" 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 Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

hosts a ball in the first year of the three-year cycle, and until recently

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

also did. However

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 Worcester College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was ad ...

, 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

(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

'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. Similarly, the commemoration ball hosted by Worcester College on 27 June 2014 was the highlight of celebrations to mark the college's tercentenary. 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. * 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, Balliol College * 2014 — Trinity College, Worcester College, Christ Church, St. John's College, Merton College, Exeter College Hertford College * 2015 — Oriel College, ~~Magdalen College~~ (Cancelled) * 2016 — New College, Magdalen College, The Queen's College * 2017 — Trinity College, St John's College, Worcester College, Christ Church, Corpus Christi College * 2018 — Oriel College * 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 * 2025 — Balliol College, Christ Church College, Exeter College, Hertford College, Lady Margaret Hall, Mansfield College, New College, St. Hilda's College, Somerville-Jesus College (Joint formal), The Queen's College, Wadham College,

Performances

Commemoration ball organising committees generally seek to secure private performances from leading entertainers; some notable performances are listed below. ;2022 *

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with Oxford University Sinfonietta, The Correspondents,

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, The Correspondents, DJ Heidi, Friend Within ( Trinity College) ;2013 *

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Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

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( New College) ;2012 *

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( Trinity College)Trinity Commemoration Ball 2011 :: The Night
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( Christ Church) ;2010 *

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( Christ Church) *

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