On Thursday night, roads were closed for miles around the Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc on the French Riviera, helping to keep out paparazzi and eager fans.
On the vast estate overlooking the crystal blue water of the Mediterranean, over 800 actors, performers, models, and royals — including Demi Moore, Michelle Yeoh and Magic Johnson — walked a red carpet lined with photographers for the annual amfAR gala, an event started by the actress Elizabeth Taylor in 1993 to raise money for AIDS research.
The event has often attracted marquee acts (Diana Ross and Mariah Carey performed in past years), and this year, Cher, who at 78 is still releasing new music, was tapped to perform.
Lindsey Wixson, a model who has worked for brands including Chanel and Prada, summed up the mood before the performance: “I’m freaking out a little,” she said. “I’m a huge fan, and she is such a legend.”
Held on the second Thursday of the film festival at the Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d’Antibes in the French Riviera, where rooms start at $1,800 a night, the gala serves as an unofficial closing party for the Cannes Film Festival, which lures some of the most famous faces in the world every May. (Elle Fanning, Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, Joe Alwyn and Greta Gerwig were all spotted during this year’s festival.)
