The following story appeared on eltonjohn.com on June 28, 2010.
For the 12th consecutive year, Elton and David opened the doors of their splendid Old Windsor home for the legendary White Tie & Tiara Ball, organised in partnership with Chopard. This exclusive private event welcomed a stunning array of guests, including Elizabeth Hurley, Kate Beckinsale, Eugenia Silva, Anna Netrebko, Lara Stone, Laura Whitmore, David Gandy and Roberto Bolle. Guest star for the evening was Lady Gaga who, along with Elton and David, all wore spectacular Haute Joaillerie pieces by the Chopard.
This year’s theme was ‘the whimsical world of Lady Gaga’ which echoed throughout the four corners of the gardens of Woodside and the pavilion where the evening was held, thanks to a gothic-style, grand, quirky and sumptuous décor inspired by the artist herself. Before her appearance, guests had the opportunity to snack on scrambled eggs with Mottra caviar, truffled scrambled eggs, Cumbrian lamb loin with ‘the forgotten allotment of vegetables’ and a ‘chocolate bombe’ with a fondant heart of chocolate covered nuts.
During the evening Elton’s guests were treated to ‘Neurotic’ cocktails served by Neuro Drinks, the new brand of healthy functional drinks which enhance active lifestyles and which has just launched in the UK. The Neurotic cocktail is ‘a refreshing mix of NeuroSonic, champagne, grenadine and fresh raspberries’, and guests were also served with individual Neuro drinks – ‘prescribed’ according to their mood!
Lady Gaga took to the stage surrounded by her dancers and gave a roof-raising performance. She and Elton, who have a profound mutual admiration, also sang together, face to face at the piano.
Later the traditional auction on behalf of the Foundation took place. Exceptional lots were on offer, including a Chopard watch from the Haute Joaillerie Animal World collection created for the brand’s 150th anniversary which sold for 75,000 pounds; a sculpture by Anselm Kiefer, which went for an incredible 670,000 pounds; a magnificent opportunity to visit one of the sites of the Elton John AIDS Foundation in the company of Elton and David was sold for 700,000 pounds; and an Audi car painted by Damien Hirst went for 350,000 pounds.
One of the programmes guests were asked to support uses football as a way of helping young people avoid HIV and AIDS. David Walliams introduced a special film about how the EJAF is working with football-based programmes across Africa, using ‘the beautiful game’ as a way of appealing to young people, over 4,000 of whom are infected with HIV every day. Guests at the event responded by providing donations to cover dozens of community football tournaments in Africa, many organised by football NGO Grassroot Soccer, each of which can provide HIV awareness, counselling and testing for up to 10,000 people. The M•A•C AIDS Fund, whose Viva Glam spokesperson is Lady Gaga herself, added a further 100,000 pounds pledge to the EJAF, specifically for work in South Africa.
At the end of the night Elton and David thanked all the guests for their presence and generosity, reminding them of the importance of the fight against AIDS and the important work carried out by the Foundation.