The Societies and Sports Awards Ball has now sold out of dinner tickets! As one of the biggest nights of the year for Napier students, we know there is always chat about ticket prices and event details, so we wanted to take the opportunity to give an overview of some behind the scenes of planning this event!

The cost

While ENSA doesn't make a profit from this event, the costs do need to be covered by ticket income as we’re a charity. We understand that the ticket price is a big consideration, and we want to be open about where the cost comes from.

Event costs include:

• A large-scale city-centre venue with professional staffing and security
• In-house catering (we are required to use the caterers within the venue)
• Venue facilities such as cloakroom access
• Event management, safety measures, and insurance
• Event production (staging, sound, lighting)
• Live entertainment (bagpipes, band, ceilidh)
• Professional photographer
• Decorations (centrepieces, balloons, and photo opportunities)
• Awards Ceremony (personalised trophies and certificates)
• £2 booking fee included which we are required to pay to our event platform host and media partner Native

We work hard to keep ticket prices as low as possible while still delivering a safe, high-quality event that celebrates the achievements of societies, sports clubs, and volunteers.

To help with affordability, we also offer Late Entry tickets at a lower price for students who don’t wish to attend the meal or want a more accessible option.

Compared to other universities who are holding their awards night at the same venue, we think our value for price is great! As an example, Heriot Watt’s Sports Ball sold tickets for £80 (full ticket including 3 course dinner) and £35 (late entry ticket). 

What has changed since last year?

We took your feedback from last year’s feedback ball survey on board and made some changes:

• Food: We upgraded from a 2-course buffet meal to a seated meal at the lowest available rate
• Welcome Drink: We will hand out tokens for the welcome drinks to ensure everyone only gets one drink
• Ticket Price: Austen, your Co-President for Sport and Wellbeing, has actively secured multiple partnerships for the event, meaning we could reduce ticket prices by approximately £5 per person! We are grateful to our partners Macron, Frankenstein, Dropkick Murphys, Enterprise Mobility, Copper Blossom, and Civerinos, whose contributions have helped offset event costs.
• Entertainment: Austen was also able to find a band that does both ceilidh and pop songs, saving some money in this budget too
• Decorations: While no change is made in this area, continuing to use the same DIY centerpieces that we made 3 years ago, and only replacing broken ones, is helping with costs while reducing our environmental impact. A few years ago, balloons were used on each table as centrepieces.
• Event Duration: We are slightly adjusting the event timings to make the drinks reception longer and finish the event a bit earlier, as last year most people left after the first band.

Step 1 centrepieces: painting bottles!

Step 2: organise existing paper flowers, fluff them, and order new ones. Repeat.

Step 3: organise all decorations, ready to take for the event

all set up!

What we can’t change...

• The food menu. We can’t make the chefs cook custom meals or change caterers as the venue comes with catering. We make food decisions based on what we predict most people will like and choose a dietary option for any vegan or vegetarian attendees.

• The drink prices. Unfortunately we can’t influence the venue’s drinks prices as they set these at standard levels themselves. We hope that the welcome drink you get at the start of the event helps with your overall drink costs during the event.

Planning & Logistics

So… what actually goes into planning a ball of this scale? A lot more than picking a venue and putting on a playlist!

Planning for the Societies and Sports Awards Ball starts almost a year in advance. After the previous ball finishes and feedback is collected, we have an in-depth team meeting to discuss changes to the event and whether we want to stick with the same venue. We then hold some dates until the new elected Sabbatical Officers start, to give them the final say! Sometimes this isn’t possible if other people are interested in the same date as us, in which case we book the venue but let the Sabbatical Officers input in other event decisions.

Behind the scenes, the Events team works closely with the venue, suppliers, and partners to make sure the event runs safely and smoothly.

This includes:

• Confirming contracts with the venue, entertainment, and photographer
• Writing event descriptions, accessibility notes, and event info packs
• Managing budgets and invoices to ensure the event breaks even
• Coordinating with the venue on food choices, event timings, room layouts and table plans
• Creating said table plan (honestly my least favourite activity in the entire job :D) and event timeline
• Writing risk assessments and coordinating accessibility needs
• Organising decorations, including the set-up and derig on the day (this part is more fun)

But the events team is not the only one involved! The Sports & Societies team, Communications Team, and the President for Societies & Community and Co-President for Sport and Wellbeing all have important roles in the planning of this event. These include:

• Reaching out to companies and managing partnerships for additional income
• Coordinating VIP guests and staffing
• Creating a promotional plan for advertising the event
• Creating slideshows and photo montages
• Discussing the shortlist and winners of the awards (this takes the volunteer committee multiple days!)
• Ordering awards, trophies, certificates, and ensuring names and categories are correct

On the night itself, staff are on-site from early afternoon until the very end of the event. This includes overseeing room set-up, putting together centerpieces, liaising with the venue team, supporting presenters and performers, managing any issues that arise, and making sure everyone has the best possible experience.

Why we share this

We know it can sometimes feel like ticket prices or event decisions come out of nowhere. That’s why we wanted to be open about how this event comes together and where your money goes. The Awards Ball is about celebrating the incredible work done by societies, sports clubs, and volunteers across Edinburgh Napier and we want it to feel special, inclusive, and worth it.

If you’ve bought a ticket, thank you for supporting the event. If you’re attending via late entry, we’re excited to have you join us too. And if you have feedback afterwards, please keep sharing it – it helps shape how future events are delivered.

We can’t wait to celebrate with you on the night!