Elton says ta-ta to his white tie and tiara party
IT has been held up as one of the most glittering events in the summer’s social calendar.
But Elton John’s lavish charity garden party, the White Tie and Tiara Ball, has been cancelled this year – amid fears that it was losing its social cachet.
For the past 15 years, Sir Elton, 67, has entertained A-list stars including Sharon Stone, Bill Clinton and Catherine Zeta- Jones at his £20million Windsor mansion.
Thanks to tickets costing up to £10,000 and a competitive charity auction, the ball has raised more than £50million for his Aids Foun- dation. But some have claimed the event has begun to lose its appeal in recent years, attracting only minor celebrities such as Peter Andre and Kerry Katona.
In 2010, there were reports that 450 guests had bought their invitations through ticketing agencies.
And in 2012, the ball reached new lows when Dame Shirley Bassey reportedly complained that the toilets were blocked, with guests comparing the ball to the muddy Glastonbury music festival. A source told the Daily Mail: ‘While Elton and the team put in a huge amount of work and enjoyed it, they realised there are other ways to raise funds and they wanted to stop before it became a joke.’
Last night the Elton John Aids Foundation said it would hold an alternative garden party in September – which is expected to have a far more restricted guest list.
But Sir Elton’s spokesman claimed the ball had only been cancelled because of a clash with tour dates, adding: ‘There’s a huge event in September. It will be the same people, the same thing, just not the White Tie, that’s all.’