Antibes (France):After a year off due to the pandemic, amFAR is back. The annual fundraiser returned - but in a different location on the French coast and with a reduced guest list due to COVID protocols. This year's host Sharon Stone called the event "beautiful" and "overwhelming." She also explained what guests could expect from the evening in terms of the entertainment:
"I think we can see that there will be a lot of heart, a lot of love. Alicia Keys is singing, we're doing a tribute to Spike Lee, it is about the right things. So I think you can see that the heart and soul of amFAR will be here tonight," she smiled.
Since 1985, amfAR has emerged as one of the world's leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and advocacy. The gala in the South of France usually coincides with the Cannes Film Festival, which happens just around the coast.
WATCH: Sharon Stone, Spike Lee, Orlando Bloom attend amFAR gala WATCH |Cannes 2021: Spike Lee, Salma Hayek and others attend event to support women in film
The event is a fixture on the social calendar of the rich and famous, with its sit-down black-tie dinner, star-filled live auction and a designer fashion show curated by Carine Roitfeld.
Speaking on the red carpet ahead of the event, head auctioneer Simon de Pury emphasized the push to raise funds from the gala. "It is very exciting to be back here, for the amFAR gala because as you know it did not take place last year, and 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.
Spike Lee, who is also head of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, was honored at the event Friday night and Alicia Keys performed. Other guests included Orlando Bloom, Nicholas Braun and Bella Thorne.
