'A NIGHT TO BENEFIT RAISING MALAWI AND UNICEF' Hosted by Gucci and Madonna with Special Performances by Alicia Keys, Timbaland and Rihanna

'A NIGHT TO BENEFIT RAISING MALAWI AND UNICEF' Hosted by Gucci and Madonna with Special Performances by Alicia Keys, Timbaland and Rihanna

NEW YORK, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 6th, 2008, Gucci and Madonna hosted a fundraising event: A NIGHT TO BENEFIT RAISING MALAWI AND UNICEF. The event took place on the North Lawn of the United Nations, held in a 42,000 square foot tent erected specifically for the evening.

Co-chaired by Gucci's Creative Director, Frida Giannini, the evening was dedicated to raising funds and awareness for orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa where over 11 million of the 48 million orphans have lost one or both parents to AIDS. The event successfully raised a total of approximately $5.1 million from ticket sales and a live auction. Gucci has completely underwritten the event and 100% of the proceeds will be split equally between the US Fund for UNICEF and Raising Malawi.

Joined by Madonna and Frida Giannini was a list of distinguished co-chairs, including Drew Barrymore, Arpad Busson, Salma Hayek and Francois-Henri Pinault, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, Gwyneth Paltrow, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, as well as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors Tea Leoni and Lucy Liu. Guests at the sold-out event included: Amy Adams, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Devon Aoki, Sean Avery, Camilla Belle, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Burge, Sean Combs, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart, Becky Newton and Chris Diamantopoulos, Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, Ben Foster, Nelly Furtado, Keri Hilson, Ellen Pompeo and Chris Ivery, Bill and Katie Lee Joel, Donna Karan, Miranda Kerr, Heidi Klum, Zoe Kravitz, Ali Larter, Justin Long, Christian Louboutin, Dylan McDermott, Cynthia Nixon, Rosie O'Donnell, Alex Rodriguez, Narciso Rodriguez, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, L'Wren Scott, Jessica and Jerry Seinfeld, Brooke Shields, Molly Sims, Martha Stewart, Donald and Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump, Pharrell Williams, Debra Messing and Daniel Zelman and Cassie.

After passing through the red carpet, guests entered the cocktail area to view the photographs of Kristen Ashburn, a documentary photographer, whose work has taken her to southern Africa to capture the impact of AIDS in the region. Guests then entered a Gucci-inspired amphitheater dinner room for a dinner catered by Olivier Cheng. They were welcomed to their seats by African drummers and a live performance by the African Children's Choir. Madonna then welcomed the crowd. Following dinner, Frida Giannini gave a brief speech and introduced UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors, Tea Leoni and Lucy Liu. The evening's program included clips from Madonna's documentary "I Am Because We Are," as well as guest speakers Professor Jeffrey Sachs and Matthews Chikaonda. Chris Rock then took the stage to co-host the live auction, with Christie's Christopher Burge, of several luxury experience packages including a private tour of the Chateau LaTour vineyards, a Milanese excursion to the next Gucci fashion show, a sports lovers fantasy package and a personal lifestyle experience with Madonna.

After the auction, Madonna introduced the first performer of the evening, Rihanna, who sang "Please Don't Stop the Music," and her hit song "Umbrella," followed by Timbaland's performance of "The Way I Are" with Keri Hilson. Nelly Furtado then joined Timbaland on stage and the two performed "Give It To Me." To conclude the performances, Alicia Keys belted her hit single "No One." The evening lasted until 12:30 am with an after party featuring DJ Jus Ske.

Both together and individually, Gucci and Madonna share a history of commitment to the fight against AIDS, as well as support for orphans and children affected by HIV/AIDS. Beginning in 1997, Madonna served as Honorary Co-chair of the record-breaking Gucci fundraising event for AIDS Project Los Angeles. Gucci and Madonna have both since responded to the global circumstances of the AIDS pandemic, pursuing interests on behalf of orphans and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Gucci has been a UNICEF corporate partner since 2004, starting with a local holiday event in Los Angeles, and growing to a global campaign in over twenty countries in 2005. The Gucci campaign supports UNICEF programs in Malawi and Mozambique, where over one million children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Since 2006, Raising Malawi has been dedicated to bringing an end to the extreme poverty and hardship endured by Malawi's one million orphans, over half of whom have been orphaned by AIDS.

Source: Gucci

CONTACT: For Gucci - Charlotte Blechman of Gucci America Public
Relations, +1-212-379-8594, cblechman@gucci.it; or For Madonna - Liz Rosenberg
of Warner Brothers Records, +1-212-707-3256, liz.rosenberg@wbr.com; or
For U.S. Fund for UNICEF - Marissa Buckanoff of U.S. Fund for UNICEF,
+1-212-922-2485, mbuckanoff@unicefusa.org

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Profile: intent