Last year, 14,000 students flocked to the Welcome Fair to bag freebies, learn about the Union and meet clubs and societies.
It's always one of the highlights of the year, let alone the week! But with over 200 stalls to visit, it's a pretty major affair.
Here are our tips for getting the most out of it...
You must book a ticket to attend
Your ticket will be for entry at a specific time on either Saturday or Sunday.
The ticketing and entry system means we’ll be able to safely manage the number of attendees throughout the day. Book a ticket at the bottom of this page (on mobile) or on the right-hand side (on desktop). You'll need to log in with your UCL account.
It all starts on Gordon Street
You'd be forgiven for thinking you enter via the Quad through the main gates. But no. Head to Gordon Street. You'll see the entry point next to the Student Centre (look out for the big 'U'!).
The clubs and societies are in alphabetical order
If you have an idea of who you want to talk to, you'll know roughly whereabouts they'll be and if you've already gone past them. American Football is going to be near the start and Yoga at the end. But make sure you make it to the quad! That's where all the commercial stalls are going to be so you can bag yourself some freebies.
It's also where societies will be performing so you can catch a glimpse of what you could be doing if you join a particular society.
Check out a list of all of our Societies online.
Pick up one of our snazzy tote bags
Grab one of our 7,000 free tote bags, jam-packed with lots of goodies to get you going. Be quick though, because once they're gone, they're gone!
You're not actually joining any groups today...
Memberships aren't actually bought at the fair. Browse, chat to committees, take free sweets etc. but do your joining online.
...and that's a good thing
Because you don't want to join anything before you know your timetable. What if you join two societies who have their meetings at the same time?
What if you join Aikido but then realise you'd have preferred Karate? What if you go to a Mountaineering taster session and discover you're afraid of heights? Use the fair to size up your options and then join later.
Hang around
Once you've been through that majority of the stalls, you'll come out into the Main Quad.
It'll be full of fun activities, stalls and performances, so spend some time enjoying the atmosphere before you move on. We've had free food, energy drinks, tote bags and more in the past, so prepare to come back armed with goodies.
Don't miss the commercial marquee
In the quad there will be a big marquee which is freebie heaven! Inside will be all of the companies that want to give you free stuff in exchange for telling you about what they do.
Leave enough time
Because of the volume of people and the limited space, it does take quite a while to get around the fair. Because of the shape of the buildings, it's a big one-way system, meaning it's not possible to just pop into one stall. So we'd say leave a couple of hours to see everything.
You don't have to go
We think it's a great day, but if you can't make it, it's not the end of the world.
We'll have an online version of the Welcome Fair and you'll still be able to join clubs and societies and you can find out about them and their welcome events on our What's On calendar or their directory page. Most Clubs and Societies run Give it a Go sessions, so don't stress.
Accessibility
The Welcome Fair takes place on campus, around the Wilkins Building and main quad. All of these spaces are wheelchair accessible. If you have access needs, either come to the front of the queue (by the Refectory) where a member of event staff will be able to support you or let us know in advance by following the links when booking your ticket.
We have student volunteers on the day, able to assist students with hearing disabilities - let us know in advance by following the links when booking your ticket or come to the front of the queue.
During the first hour of each day, the event is quieter with fewer people in the space. Stage performances also start from 11:00, so the quad is a calmer more relaxed environment. Please book a ticket during quiet hour (10:00 until 11:00) if you'd like to attend the event whilst it's quieter.