Elton John dedicates AIDS benefit dinner to Liz Taylor

Elton John dedicated an AIDS benefit dinner to late friend and supporter Elizabeth Taylor.

Taylor, who died in March, founded the amFAR HIV and AIDS charity and John said she would remain the charity event’s “guiding star”.

The star-studded amFAR dinner, which was held last night in Cannes in the south of France, attracted celebrities such as Sean Penn, Kanye West and Karl Lagerfeld.

Taylor set up amFAR after her friend Rock Hudson died of AIDS in the early 1980s.

The charity has invested almost 250 million dollars (£138 million) in HIV and AIDS research since 1985.

The actress said at the time: “I am on a crusade against AIDS and I’ll battle forever even after a cure is found.

“Making people aware of the disease, and comforting and embracing sufferers, has been my greatest role off screen.”