In a pink-drenched Manhattan event space overlooking the Hudson River on a Tuesday (May 12) night, Elton John delivered an intimate performance at the annual Hot Pink Party, a fundraising gala that benefits the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). A longtime ally of the organization—which is the largest private funder of breast cancer research on earth—the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer played six of his indelible hits for BCRF supporters in tribute to Leonard A. Lauder, who died last year at the age of 92.
“I’ve been proud to support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for decades. This year I’m performing to honor the memory of my friend, the great Leonard Lauder—whose unwavering dedication to this organization carried forward the extraordinary legacy of its founder, his wife Evelyn,” John explained. Evelyn Lauder, who died in 2011, founded the BCRF in 1993 and helped popularize the pink ribbon as a symbol of breast cancer awareness.
As John noted mid-performance inside Manhattan’s spacious The Glasshouse, BCRF’s 260-plus researchers across 17 countries are still searching for a cure “for this terrible disease.” Saluting the Lauder family (of the Estée Lauder cosmetics company) as “great friends” of his own family, John reminded Hot Pink Party donors that “it isn’t over, we have a lot of work to do.” The nine-time Billboard Hot 100 topping artist also gave a special shoutout to the organization’s researchers, especially Dr. Larry Norton: “(He’s) just a genius, bless his heart, I love him dearly.”
Opening with “Your Song” (what else?), John—wearing a pink suit and fashionable pink/black spectacles—proceeded to sing a New York City-inspired classic, “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,” followed by “Tiny Dancer,” “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” and a full-throated, emotional “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” John closed with an energetic, jaunty “I’m Still Standing,” which had the entire room quite literally standing and dancing along. That room, incidentally, included Ashanti, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Vera Wang and many philanthropic luminaries.
Hosted by Elizabeth Hurley, the global ambassador of the Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign, the 2026 Hot Pink Party pulled in a whopping $9 million for lifesaving research. Over the last three decades, BCRF scientists have contributed to every major breakthrough in the field, helping breast cancer mortality rates decline by 44% in the United States.
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