Sir Elton John and David Furnish hosted the 18th Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) Academy Awards® Viewing Party and raised $3.7 Million for the fight against AIDS. Presented by Chopard, Jo and Raffy Manoukian and Neuro Drinks, the EJAF Viewing Party continues to be the leading fundraiser on Oscar night in Hollywood. The evening began with a cocktail reception, dinner and viewing of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, followed by a very exciting live auction and high voltage performance by the iconic Grace Jones.
Throughout its 18 years, the event has hosted some of the biggest stars in film, television and music. This year was no exception with celebrities such as Adam Levine, Alan Cumming, Allison Iraheta (American Idol), Apolo Ohno, Betty White, Chace Crawford, Christina Hendricks, Cory Monteith (Glee), Debi Mazar, Eric & Janet McCormack, Gina Gershon, Hayden Panettiere, Heidi Klum, J.C. Chasez, Jason Mraz, Jeremy Piven, Joaquin Phoenix, John Waters, Josh Groban, K.D. Lang, Kimora Lee, Lea Michele (Glee), Liam Hemsworth, Matthew Morrison (Glee), Michelle Rodriguez, Milla Jovovich & Paul W. S. Anderson, Miley Cyrus, Nicole Richie & Joel Madden, Ricki Lake, Rob Lowe, Ryan Kwanten, S. Epatha Merkerson (Law & Order), Sam Trammell (True Blood), Selena Gomez, Serena Williams, Sharon & Kelly Osbourne, Simon Cowell, Slash, Tim Allen, Victoria Beckham, attendance.
Guests arrived for the 18th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Award Viewing party to a custom-built tent adorned in hues of red and tangerine, a decor inspired by designer Antony Todd's travels. Chef Wayne Elias of Crumble Catering prepared an exquisite five-course meal including dishes such as Risotto Carnaroli with saffron liquorice and king prawns and "Wahoo" with black olives, pine nuts, fresh herbs and stewed lentils.
As is tradition, immediately following dinner, auctioneer Jamie Niven of Sotheby's led the evening's live auction. Items auctioned included a Lisa Jack contact sheet of a portrait sitting of now President Barack Obama which was taken at Occidental College in 1980. This rare piece sold for an astounding $60K. Guests also had the opportunity to bid on a private tennis lesson given by legendary tennis pros Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, which sold for $70K and the costume that Sir Elton John wore during his performance with Lady Gaga at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. The costume sold for $30K. A fantastic 48"X48" William Claxton piece, "Chet Baker (Piano), Hollywood, 1954," was sold for $90K. The lucky winner of this photograph also got to take home Claxton's Nikon F 35mm Camera as well as the "Jazz Life" trade edition book. Guests also had the chance to bid on a watch from the Elton John Watch Collection designed by Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele. The dazzling limited timepiece was sold for $90K. Other auction items included an incredible photograph by Robert Mapplethrope called "Grace Jones, 1984" which was sold for $85K and surprised his guests with the opportunity to bid on a 7-day stay for 10 people in Elton's home in Windsor or Nice and the winners of this bid will also be able to experience the wonderful dishes cooked by Elton's personal chef. The 7-day stay was sold for $140K.
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