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Summer graduation hospitality packages

22 May 2023

Hospitality arrangements for celebrations following graduation ceremonies this summer, including capacities for the marquee and hospitality packages

Summer graduation

Marquee information

The marquee will be situated on the lawn in the centre of Alan Gilbert Square (opposite Alan Gilbert Learning Commons).

The marquee will have a capacity of 550 guests at any one time. This capacity has been agreed with colleagues within Health and Safety services, along with the University fire officer.

We ask that you keep to this limit by either staggering your guest numbers throughout your reception time slot, or ticket your group to ensure that this capacity isn’t exceeded.

Hospitality package

Our hospitality package will be served in the marquee only. If you would like to organise hospitality within your School, please let us know and we will share suitable menus.  As always we remind you that catering must be procured in-house.

Confirming numbers and catering options

We kindly ask that all catering for your graduation celebration is placed and confirmed by Friday, 30 June 2023 so we can order and plan appropriately. Your departmental account code that catering will be charged to will also be required by this date to confirm your order. 

Our team will provide a booking summary for your celebration and we recommend you check this over to ensure all details for your catering are correct.

Celebration timings

To help with planning use of the marquee space, along with managing the turnaround between groups, we have arranged time slots to go alongside each graduation ceremony:

Graduation Ceremony

Drinks Reception Time Slot in Marquee

9.30am

10.30am to 11.45am

11.15am

12.15pm to 1.30pm

1pm

2pm to 3.15pm

2.45pm

3.45pm to 5pm

4.30pm

5.30pm to 6.45pm

Tickets for the hospitality marquee

To assist with numbers coming to the marquee, each reception will be ticketed. Our team will arrange colour coded, date and time stamped tickets which the graduation admissions team will hand out when students register their attendance and collect their seat number. Each student will receive up to three tickets (one for themselves and two guests).

We ask that members of your team/school are on hand to welcome your graduates and their families, in order to help manage numbers in the marquee and check those attending. The hospitality team will collect the tickets at the marquee.

Planning a school event?

If you are planning to hold your graduation celebration elsewhere (i.e. a space within your school) and not use the graduation marquee, please discuss details with our team to see if this can be accommodated.

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