Alicia Keys among A-list stars attending Aids fundraiser in Cannes
The live auction which took place during the dinner saw a combination of luxury holidays, jewels, artwork and one-off experiences go under the hammer.
Sharon Stone hosted and Alicia Keys gave a dazzling performance as the lavish amfAR gala that raises money for Aids research returned to Cannes.
One of the most anticipated nights of the festival, the 27th edition was a smaller more intimate affair than previous years, with the exclusive guestlist pared from 900 to 400 people with Covid-19 protocols in place.
The night began with a cocktail hour complete with ballerinas, flapper girls with Afghan hounds, vodka and caviar shots and plenty of champagne.
Dining under the stars at Villa Eilenroc in Antibes, this year’s theme was I am a Movie Star and guests were entertained with a fashion show curated by Carine Roitfeld.
Keys was the music headliner, performing a spellbinding set which included her legendary hit New York as well as the much-loved Fallin’.
“It is beautiful, it is overwhelming, it is exciting, it is great to stay on mission here,” Stone said before the festivities began, noting that some of the science used to fight HIV and Aids was deployed against Covid-19.
“I think we’re staying on mission and we’re back at it which is really nice.”
The live auction which took place during the dinner saw a combination of luxury holidays, jewels, artwork and one-off experiences go under the hammer.
This year’s highlights included a chance to create your own personal vintage champagne which went for 70,000 euros (£60,000), while a Chopard 18-carat white gold diamond, tanzanite and amethyst necklace raised 170,000 euros (£145,000).
Amongst the artwork an Andy Warhol Mickey Mouse piece raised 375,000 euros (£320,000), a Michael Kagan astronaut sculpture went for 400,000 euros (£343,000) and contemporary British artist Sacha Jafri created a live painting during the auction which raised 1 million euros (£857,000).
The 32 top designer outfits featured in the evening’s fashion show were also auctioned off gaining a hammer price of 225,000 euros (£193,000).
Since 1985, amfAR has invested nearly 550 million dollars (£400 million) in its programmes and has awarded more than 3,300 grants to research teams worldwide.
Before the sale, head auctioneer Simon de Pury stressed the auction’s importance to sustaining amfAR’s mission.
“amFAR really does depend on those galas, does depend on the generosity of so many of those artists who give works and so many patrons who come to these galas, so I do hope we can raise a lot of money tonight for amFAR,” he said.
