It’s time to celebrate spring in Lundagård!

By maria [dot] blad [at] kommunikation [dot] lu [dot] se (Maria Blad) - published 25 April 2023

The Student Singers in front of the University Building. Photo: Kennet Ruona.

It is now time for Lund’s University’s traditional celebrations in Lundagård to mark 30 April and 1 May. In keeping with tradition, there will be the donning of student caps on 30 April and on 1 May you can attend the students' May Day speech to the Vice-Chancellor and hear the Lund Student Singers welcome the spring in song.

The donning of student caps

Time: 30 April 17:20 to 18:00
Place: Tegnérsplatsen, Lundagård

On 30 April, the vice-president of the Lund University Student Unions, Alva Söderbäck, will hold a speech to welcome the spring, and Bella Voce – Lund Student Singers will celebrate the spring in song.

The students’ May Day speech to the Vice-Chancellor

Time: 1 May 12:20
Place: University Square, Lundagård

Lund University’s Vice-Chancellor will be evaluated by the president of the Lund University Student Unions.
The students’ May Day speech to the Vice-Chancellor begins at 12:20 with the massed standards of the Lund students, Lund Student Singers and Lund University Student Unions walking in a procession from AF Borgen to the Main University Building. Thereafter, the president of Lund University Student Unions, Emmy Svensson, will hold a speech, followed by Lund University’s Vice-Chancellor Erik Renström.

The audience is welcome to listen to the speeches, songs from the Lund Student Singers and music from AMC Bleckhornen.

The event lasts for about one hour.

Lund Student Singers welcome the spring

The Lund Student Singers traditionally sing to welcome the spring on the steps of the Main University Building, an old tradition that is also usually broadcast on TV.

Time: 1 May 18:00 to 19:00
Place: Steps of the Main University Building, Paradisgatan 2, Lund.

The concert is broadcast live on SVT at 18:15 and on SVT Play.

History

The donning of student caps at Lund University originally took place at midnight on the night between 30 April and 1 May at the Academic Society’s main hall. With a growing student population, the ceremony was eventually moved outdoors to Tegnérsplatsen, where it continues to be held. However, the time was changed in 1965 to 18:00. When the ceremony was held at midnight, it was an unwritten rule that the wording “där ute står majnatten blånande blå” (out there is the blue May night) would be included in the speech, and even in later years this phrase or variations on it (occasionally with political symbolism in the choice of colour) have been used, even though the ceremony nowadays takes place in broad daylight.

The students' May Day speech to the Vice-Chancellor is a tradition dating back to 1849. Before that, the students walked around Lund and visited their professors to tell them what they thought about their lecturers – both praise and criticism could be expressed. Today, it is only the Vice-Chancellor at Lund University who is evaluated on 1 May. There is a student procession from AF Borgen and the speech to the Vice-Chancellor is given by the president of Lund University Student Unions. The speech usually ends with the cry of “vivat” or “pereat”, i.e. thumbs up or down for the University.