Wet Summer Party forecasts loss but fails to dampen spirits

The Summer Party is forecast to have made a loss this year. Development Officer, George Whitworth, told the Boar that the SU sold around 3,000 tickets, which were priced at £38 each. He identified that the SU was hoping to sell a ‘few hundred more’ however bad weather and the timing of the England v. Italy Euro 2012 quarter final match conspired against them.

Whitworth stated: “It did not make a significant profit. If anything we anticipate it will have lost a few thousand this year.” However he said he was not too worried by the loss, “in the context of the total turnover of the event, or its past success.”

He added “I do think it was a huge success. We had some problems with a couple of the artists, but on the whole I think it was excellent. The second tent was certainly better used than in previous years, working with some very willing partners from LeDiCe.”

The event was sponsored this year by Southern Comfort, ABTA travel and Deloitte. There were concerns that following the boycott of Bacardi, who sponsored the Summer Party in 2011, there would be a loss of sponsorship which would result in financial difficulty for event.

Whitworth commented: “should we have been able to approach Bacardi for sponsorship, it is possible that they would have offered us sponsorship as they did in 2011, in the region of a few thousand pounds.”

He added that the boycott: “probably did impact negatively, but the motion on Bacardi was addressed at a general meeting and as a democratic organisation we have to stand by the decisions that students make.”

The Summer Party was held on Sunday, 24 June this year on the fields by University House. The event saw acts including Noah & The Whale, Ms Dynamite, Stooshe, Jakwob, Clement Marfo &The Frontline, Post War Years, By The Rivers and 3=Car, a band from the University who won the BandSoc battle of the bands competition.

Student reaction to the event was mixed. Rachel West, a first-year Chemistry student felt that the £38 ticket price was too steep: “The acts were a bit of a let-down, other universities have had much better acts than what Warwick got. I just think the ticket price should have been subsidised by the SU a lot more and we should have had better acts. My favourite part was the rides; I thought they added a lot of fun to the day.”

Sam Stacey, a fourth-year Engineering student regrets leaving early to watch the England v. Italy game: “I left to go and watch the football and didn’t go to the after party. I regret going to watch the football because I was starting to enjoy the summer party at that point.”

The SU withdrew tickets from sale after the first 24 hours they were on sale after the SU website crashed and there were fears some students would not be able to buy tickets before their student loan was paid to them. Sales were suspended until the beginning of term three.