In-Person KCL Freshers’ Fair Confirmed for September 2021

In-person Freshers’ Fair events have been confirmed for the 2021/22 academic year at KCL. The Fair will be held on September 23 and 24 at Old Billingsgate, a change from the Fair’s usual venue of The Barbican.

Roar initially reported on this development the evening of June 12 following receipt of an email outlining these events as part of a two-week programme, entitled “Welcome Fortnight 2021”. According to the email, sent by the KCL AKC office, “in-person events are scheduled to take place on campus from 20-24 September.” It is currently unclear which separate events are planned to occur between September 20-22.

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Roar has seen an email outlining @KingsCollegeLon and the @kclsu’s plans for next academic year’s Freshers events, entitled ‘Welcome Fortnight’. In-person events are scheduled for September 20-24 where and if possible. pic.twitter.com/cwqHRyEGJx

— Roar News (@Roar_News) June 12, 2021

The Freshers’ Fair itself, usually referred to as the “Welcome Fair” by KCLSU, will be held at Old Billingsgate from 10 am to 5 pm on September 23 and 24. According to KCLSU sources, a coinciding digital fair will be held alongside this physical event.

According to the venue’s official site, Old Billingsgate was originally a fish market. The building features wide, open spaces typical of Victorian-era warehouse architecture, including high ceilings. KCL’s Freshers’ Fair has traditionally been held at the Barbican Centre, a convention space with low ceilings that would likely have conflicted with KCLSU and KCL policies regarding Covid-19 mitigation.

An aerial view of Old Billingsgate (Wikimedia Commons)

In a statement to Roar, KCLSU President Salma Hussain told reporters: “KCLSU is looking forward to September, not only to welcome first-year students but also to welcome back returning students who missed out on campus and in-person experiences this year. We are planning to hold in-person events in our venues and spaces, as well as an in-person KCLSU Welcome Fair at a new home in Old Billingsgate. In addition, we will make sure we have online events including a digital aspect to the Welcome Fair in place for those students that may arrive on campus a bit later or are studying remotely. We will hold all our in-person events in accordance with the latest government guidance and in liaison with KCL to ensure the safety of our students and have provisions in place should we need to respond to changing guidelines.

“On a personal note, I am sad that I will not be able to witness our Welcome events but I invite all students to join a series of in-person events that KCLSU is hosting week commencing June 21, One Last Roar, so you can get to know other students. There are student-led events throughout the week and culminates in a final KCLSU event on the Friday which you can buy tickets to here. All events will be in line with government guidance to ensure our whole community is kept safe.”

Old Last Roar events are set to go ahead from June 21, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement on June 14 that lockdown restrictions would be extended for another month.