GLASSES FOR AIDS

With World AIDS Day on 1st December, it is fitting to acknowledge a man who we don't usually associate with HIV and AIDS, but rather with music and his signature accessory, imaginative, often quirky and always flamboyant eyewear. Elton John, one of music's biggest stars for over five decades, was shortsighted for many years before he had his vision corrected, making a personal statement with the choice and sometimes invention of his glasses. As well as unusual shapes, sizes and colours, some of his more memorable creations include glitter, ostrich feathers, windscreen wipers on the lenses, and individual lights which lit up to spell his name. In 1975, when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, his obvious eyewear choice was star-shaped frames! With an estimated 250,000 pairs of glasses, Elton John has a walk-in closet in which to store them. 

In 1985, Elton John had what he called a life-changing experience. He befriended a 13-year old boy named Ryan White, a haemophiliac who contracted HIV from a blood transfusion. As there was little research about it at that time, Ryan spoke out about the misconceptions around HIV and AIDS. Ryan tragically lost his battle with the disease at 18 years of age, but his strength in dealing with it is believed to be the reason for Elton John establishing the AIDS Foundation in honour of Ryan and his family. 

The Elton John AIDS Foundation is a nonprofit organisation established in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in the United Kingdom to support innovative HIV prevention, education programmes, direct care and support services to people living with HIV. The Foundation's objective is to improve the individuals' quality of life so that they can live a life of dignity and self-determination. It has raised over $200 million to support HIV related programmes in fifty-five countries. Two of the fund-raising events are the annual "Enduring Vision" benefit concert and the periodic "Elton's Closet", when Elton's old outrageous stage costumes are sold with the proceeds going to the AIDS Foundation. When asked if the eyewear is part of Elton's Closet Sale, Elton John smiled and answered that he would never sell his glasses and was planning to hold an exhibition of them some day. However, about 50 pairs of glasses were included when Sotheby's held an auction of the singer's personal items in 1998, one pair selling for 16,830 pounds. 

For his charitable work, John was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on 24th February 1998. Sir Elton John recently received the Rockefeller Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award and the Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative Leadership Award for his commitment and contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS. Starting out as a music sensation, Elton John's enduring legacy will be the use of his legendary fame, wealth and signature eyewear to benefit the fight against HIV and AIDS.