Swansea University's popular Summer Ball is back this week after a Coronavirus-fuelled hiatus. More than 5,000 Swansea students will celebrate the end of the academic year with their friends and coursemates - and lots of food, drink, live music and fairground rides.
The all-day event is the largest of its kind in Wales and will be held at Abbey Meadow on Swansea University's Singleton Campus. But instead of taking place on a typical weekday, like it has previously, this year the event has been organised to coincide with the Bank Holiday on Thursday, June 2 2022, as part of a series of measures to help keep the peace in the local community.
Three arenas will be filled with a mixture of well-known musicians including headliners Shy FX, Jonas Blue, Yung Filly, Dylan and Europe's biggest ABBA tribute band Mania, as well as local performers and talented Swansea University students too. That being said, this year's event will be somewhat quieter than previous years, to ensure disruption to people living locally is kept to a minimum.
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In previous years, local residents have complained of hearing loud music and singing and shouting until late at night, with some residents claiming they were kept awake all night by the "ridiculous" volume of the 2019 event. But this year, measures have been introduced to keep disruption and noise pollution to a minimum.
A statement from Swansea University Students' Union explains: "In an effort to minimise the potential impact to the local community, Swansea Summer Ball will take place before the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday begins. There will also a dedicated phone number for local residents to gain information or raise concerns. This number will be 01792 295 000. Swansea University Students’ Union will also be periodically measuring sound levels with decibel meters around the community in Uplands, Brynmill, and Sketty, and will have a dedicated taxi rank to encourage students to travel home or onto their next venue without disturbing residents.
"In addition to music acts, Swansea Summer Ball will feature a free funfair, food and drink stalls, and the chance to celebrate the end of a more normal-looking academic year with their friends and coursemates."
President of Swansea University Students' Union, Katie Phillips added: "I’m delighted that Swansea Summer Ball will be returning this year to give our students a good send off before the summer break. We understand that events like this can cause concern amongst the local community regarding behaviour, to mitigate this, we are working with partners such as South Wales Police, Swansea Council, and St John’s Ambulance to ensure disturbance is kept to a minimum, and ensure we have a safe, enjoyable, and responsible Summer Ball."
As well as being shared with us, the Student Union's statement has also been publicised on posters in the Brynmill area, and many locals have taken to social media to say they're pleased measures are in place to ensure loud noise will be kept to a minimum later in the evening and pleased the popular event is being held on a Bank Holiday.
One local resident, who asked not to be named, said: "The students in general are good [well-behaved]. Through things being reported through CampusLife [Swansea University's welfare department], there is an improvement in the area. After all, they are young people who, like us all, need guidance. The noise issues from anything in the park is affected by wind direction. The last Summer Ball in particular caused issues due to this."
"I, like many, want the ball to go off without hassle and the students to enjoy and be safe!" the resident added.
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