The 29th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar party went virtual this year, but still raised millions for the cause.
A 60-minute pre-party, which the public was allowed to “attend” — virtually, of course — for the first time, raised $3 million for the global fight to end AIDS. The event featured a performance by Dua Lipa, who sang “Levitating,” “Don’t Start Now,” “Pretty Please” and “Hallucinate” before joining Elton for a duet of “Bennie & the Jets” and her song “Love Again.”
Others who appeared included host Neil Patrick Harris, Lady Gaga, Cynthia Erivo and the cast of one of Elton’s favorite recent TV series, It’s a Sin.
“We haven’t missed a year yet and we certainly weren’t going to miss our 29th annual Oscar Party to benefit my Foundation – even if it meant going virtual,” said Elton in a statement. “It was so much fun to perform with the gorgeous Dua Lipa and open up our party to supporters all over the world.”
“I’m so grateful to Neil for hosting, everyone who attended and all my friends who participated so that we could continue this legendary event to raise vital funds to end the AIDS epidemic,” he added.
If you missed the event, you can still buy tickets to watch the archived show via Ticketmaster for just $19.99.
This year, the money raised will go to support young people at risk, and those living with HIV, worldwide: Every day, there are 1600 new cases of HIV in young people globally.
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