Guests arrive two by two for Uma Thurman and Arki Busson's engagement party

11 April 2012
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Anyone engaged to Hollywood actress Uma Thurman would want to shout about it.


So it was not surprising that Arpad 'Arki' Busson, the hedge fund tycoon and philanthropist, should decide to invite pretty much all of London's A-list celebrities to his home in Kensington to show off his fiancee.

Uma, 38, and Arki, 45, announced their engagement in The Times only last week.

Happy couple: Hosts Uma Thurman and Arki Busson held a star-studded party

Happy couple: Hosts Uma Thurman and Arki Busson held a star-studded party

And so they came  -  two-by-two  -  to presumably the most star-studded engagement party of the year, held in a vast marquee in the garden.

Lord only knows what the wedding will be like.

Arki has no trouble getting the great and good to his events; only last month he raised £25million for his charity.

Single girls: Tamara Mellon and Jemima Khan arrive for the party

Police agreement: Sting and Trudie Styler dressed for a summer night

Police agreement: Sting and Trudie Styler dressed for a summer night

He has two children by former partner Elle Macpherson. Thurman has been married twice before, to Gary Oldman and Ethan Hawke with whom she has two children.

Sir Elton John arrived with his partner David Furnish, then came Sting with his wife Trudie Styler, followed by Claudia Schiffer and her husband, film producer and director Matthew Vaughn. 

Private engagement: Matthew Vaugn and Claudia Schiffer arrive

Private engagement: Matthew Vaugn and Claudia Schiffer arrive

Liz Hurley was accompanied by footwear designer Patrick Cox while Bob Geldof showed up with girlfriend Jeanne Marine.

Sir Philip Green, owner of Topshop, arrived with businessman Sir David Tang.

Meanwhile even former Chelsea manager Avram Grant managed a smile as he entered accompanied by PR guru Matthew Freud.

Friends: Sir Elton John and partner David Furnish

Friends: Sir Elton John and partner David Furnish

Few seemed to be bearing gifts. Worryingly however, artist Damien Hirst arrived carrying a box.

Not big enough to fit in a cow but possibly a pickled mouse or even a small cat. Lucky Uma.

Invited: Artist Damien Hirst and wife Maia

Invited: Artist Damien Hirst and wife Maia

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in