Elton’s glittering gala raises £2.1m to combat Aids
SIR Elton John collected a dazzling £2.1million for charity at his annual Oscars party with a little help from friend Dua Lipa.
The pair were on sparkling form at the part-real, part-virtual bash which beamed around the world from the Rosewood Hotel in London’s Grosvenor Square.
Sir Elton and Dua, 25, duetted on his 1973 hit Bennie And the Jets during a set which included her single Levitating.
Gorgeous
The megastar, 74, who has been hosting an Oscars bash for his Aids foundation since 1993, said: “We haven’t missed a year yet and we certainly weren’t going to miss our 29th annual Oscar Party – even if it meant going virtual.
“It was so much fun to perform with the gorgeous Dua Lipa and open up our party to supporters all over the world.”
Lady Gaga was among the other star backers, while other real-world guests included Liz Hurley,55, David Walliams, 49, and Sir Elton’s husband and co-organiser David Furnish, 58. Years & Years singer Olly Alexander, 30, also appeared with his co-stars from smash Channel 4 drama It’s A Sin.
And American Neil Patrick Harris, 47, who also appeared in the 1980s Aids drama, hosted – a dab hand after fronting the Oscars and Tonys in the past.
Sir Elton, who should have been hosting in the flesh in Hollywood, was forced to change his plans by the pandemic.
But in a first, 400,000 tickets were made available to fans prepared to pay £14.99 to watch the hour of pre-ceremony fun online.
The Crocodile Rock singer said: “I’m so grateful to Neil for hosting, everyone who attended and all my friends who participated so we could continue this legendary event to raise vital funds to end the Aids epidemic.”