Summer graduation hospitality arrangements
06 Jun 2024
Arrangements for celebrations following our graduation ceremonies this summer, including capacities and hospitality packages, have been confirmed.
Marquee information
The marquee will be situated on the lawn in the centre of Alan Gilbert Square, at the back of the Learning Commons – the same location as in previous years.
It will have a capacity of 550 guests at any one time, and there will also be an additional 150 spaces in the Samuel Alex foyer in the event of poor weather conditions. This capacity has been agreed by Health and Safety colleagues, alongside the University’s fire officer.
We kindly ask that you keep to this limit either by staggering your guest numbers throughout your reception time slot or by ticketing your group to ensure this capacity isn’t exceeded.
Hospitality package
Our hospitality package, which includes a range of drinks, savoury snacks, and sweet treats, 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, 28 June 2024, so we can order and plan appropriately. Your departmental account code that catering will be charged to is also 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.
Service notes and tickets
- To assist with the numbers coming to the marquee, each reception will be ticketed. Our team will arrange tickets for the marquee based on the student numbers provided, plus two guests per student.
- Our team will provide a booking summary for your celebration, and we recommend you review this to ensure all details are correct and that everyone is catered for.
- We ask that members of your team/school are on hand to welcome your graduates and their families to help manage numbers in the marquee and check those attending. The hospitality team will collect the tickets at the marquee.
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 11.30am |
| 11.15am | 12.15pm to 1.15pm |
| 1pm | 2pm to 3pm |
| 2.45pm | 3.45pm to 4.45pm |
| 4.30pm | 5.30pm to 6.30pm |
| 6.15pm | 7pm to 8pm |
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.
Get in touch
To discuss your requirements, please contact events.hospitality@manchester.ac.uk