Raisa Gorbachev gala raises £1.1m to fight cancer
More than £1.1million was raised for the battle against childhood cancer at the sixth Raisa Gorbachev Foundation Gala.
The white-tie event at Stud House, Hampton Court, was attended by celebrities including Stephen Fry, Anna Friel, Geri Halliwell, Jemima Khan and model Florence Brudenell-Bruce.
The Pet Shop Boys sang after the dinner and fashion designer Vanessa G gave a sculpture to be auctioned alongside works donated by Antony Gormley, Sir Peter Blake and a neon sculpture by Tracey Emin which raised £70,000.
Other auction lots last night included once-in-a-lifetime holiday trips to destinations including India, Africa, Russia and the Maldives.
The evening was co-hosted by Evgeny Lebedev, chairman of the Evening Standard, and Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair.
The Foundation was set up in 2006 by Mikhail Gorbachev in memory of the former Soviet president's wife who died from leukaemia in 1999.
It has now raised more than £8million in total, and proceeds are divided equally between the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation, a charity devoted to supporting the fight against childhood cancer, and Marie Curie Cancer Care, the leading cancer charity.
