Ticketing chaos left dozens of AAU students frustrated and at risk of missing out on this year’s highly anticipated Gala Night.
While the university cited venue capacity and safety regulations as the reason for limited tickets, students argue that AAU students were not given ticket priority.
“I thrifted my dress back home, saved up for a ticket, and then they were sold out,” said Emma Atchison. “I was so devastated I cried to my roommates about it.”
The event has been heavily marketed. This year features the first ever Gala Team for the university’s 35th anniversary. However, students reported widespread technical issues when attempting to purchase tickets, with the website failing to process transactions properly.
Many emailed the university for assistance but some received slow response times or no reply. For AAU student Zoe Castelli, the Gala Team took four days to reply to her payment inquiry with a wire transfer request that would have charged Castelli an additional $30 from her bank.
Students were charged an extra 15 CZK service fee when purchasing the 200 CZK student tickets via Event Look, the 2025 AAU Gala ticketing platform. When AAU students questioned the Gala Team about charging a fee despite their tickets being purchased by bank transfer, their message was ignored.
Third year, Claire Woodruff successfully completed a bank transfer and received a ticket, but was later refunded and informed that the Gala had sold out.
Despite AAU allocating the largest portion of tickets to students, many are still unable to attend.
“In celebration of AAU’s 35th anniversary, we wanted to create an inclusive event that brings together not only students but also friends, alumni, and partners,” said a member of the AAU Gala team in an email to the Student Body.
In a different email to a distressed student, AAU wrote that 30 out of 500 ticket buyers were affected. However, many students have vocalised their frustrations online and on campus, suggesting the number of those impacted may be higher.
Students have been posting on social media platforms that they would be willing to pay double for a ticket to the Gala whereas some students received free tickets by completing a form on the Student Council Instagram.
Second year Rach Cronnelly, despite being nominated for an award, was unable to purchase a ticket. She has now purchased one through unofficial resale.
Despite frustrations, some students are finding alternative ways to enjoy Thursday night. Like Woodruff, who will be throwing her own Gala with friends serving cocktails and charcuterie boards instead.
The Gala Team was asked for comment from the Lennon Wall but has not yet responded.
UPDATE:
Shortly after this article was posted the Gala Team sent out an email to the AAU student body offering “100 extra Late-Night Tickets for the AAU Gala. For a price of 50 CZK students can show up no earlier than 22:00 to enjoy the “afterparty portion of the evening.”
Although the subject line of the email suggests these afterparty tickets were available before April 2, they were not. These “extra” tickets are only available for current AAU students and were likely created for the students who experienced Gala ticketing issues.
