17th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Party Celebrating the Academy Awards Raises Nearly $4 Million

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 23, 2009 — Sir Elton John and David Furnish hosted the 17th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) Academy Awards(R) viewing party. The event was held on Sunday, February 22, 2009 at the Pacific Design Center and was co-sponsored by Chopard, Jo and Raffy Manoukian and Vh1. EJAF's party to celebrate the Academy Awards(R) was one of the night's best attended parties and raised nearly $4 million.

The annual gala continues to be the leading fundraising event in Hollywood on Oscar night. This year's gala brought some exciting moments including a live performance by Sir Elton John and special guest Raphael Saadiq, as well as a emotional first-hand account by Kerrel McKay who spoke about her experiences as an HIV/AIDS activist in her home country of Jamaica. McKay also spoke about a public service campaign orchestrated by the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS, supported by the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

This year's guests included the event's esteemed co-chairs Victoria Beckham and John Walters in addition to Hollywood luminaries such as Sir Ben Kingsley, Claire Danes & Hugh Dancy, Gerard Butler, Ben Stiller & Christine Taylor, Quincy Jones, Keifer Sutherland, Whoopi Goldberg, Sharon Stone, Eva Longoria Parker, Kate Beckinsale, Carrie Underwood, Natasha Bedingfield, Chace Crawford, Olivia Wilde, Rosanna Arquette, Josh Groban, Elle Macpherson, Gordon Ramsey, Eric McCormack, Tim Allen, Rashida Jones, Molly Sims, Russell Simmons, Dita Von Teese, Zac Posen, Natasha Henstridge, Terrell Owens, Chris O'Donnell, Paz Vega, Chris Noth, Taye Diggs and Ricki Lake.

Guests arrived for cocktails followed by dinner and viewing of the 81st Annual Academy Awards in the custom-built tent adorned in black and cream hued modern "supper club" decor created exclusively by Antony Todd. The five-course meal, as created by Chef Wayne of Crumble Catering, included carnaroli risotto with dry Marsala wine and crystallized natural flowers, choice of sauteed beef filet or roasted halibut and a dessert puffed chocolate tartlet with raspberry bitter orange sauce, among others.