According to the Elton John AIDS Foundation, ‘Hosted by Reggie Yates the show will feature Sir Elton John and David Furnish as well as TikTok stars and celebrity guests. The show will also feature ‘critically acclaimed recording artist Rina Sawayama, BRIT Critics’ Choice Winner Sam Fender as well as OSCAR and Grammy-Award winning artist Sam Smith will also feature in the show.’ 

Sir John himself says that he is ‘excited to recognise World AIDS Day with TikTok and my Foundation this year to celebrate progress that we’ve made and mark what we can do collectively to end the AIDS epidemic.’ He expresses the desire to debunk the stereotypes surrounding HIV and AIDS and raise awareness amongst young people from all walks of life of how to have safe sex and keep themselves and others safe.

Since the focus of this campaign from the Elton John AIDS Foundation seems to be geared towards informing and educating young people, it makes sense that the decision was made to host the event on TikTok, a platform which is currently trending amongst the younger generation. In fact, it may well be the most popular platform amongst young people right now, having the advantage of only launching very recently, and so being able to both confuse the slightly older generations who are familiar with Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat, while making those in their teens feel like they have something to call their own.

The evidence of TikTok’s success is clear, with the now Facebook owned Instagram platform effectively copying and remaking in their own style the entire TikTok format of short video content combined with music, in their new Reels feature. The Elton John AIDS foundation have also struck on a winning note in their choice of special guests for the event. Most notably Sam Smith, who’s latest single ‘Diamonds,’ reached number 11 in the UK single’s chart.

Sam Smith has also recently made headlines by choosing to eschew conventional gender stereotypes by opting to be referred to as they or them rather than any gendered pronoun. This has made Sam Smith something of a hero for the LGBTQ movement in the UK in a similar way that Sir Elton John has been throughout his decades long career.

Sir Elton John released ‘Jewel Box,’ this year on vinyl, CD and on streaming platforms, a collection of B-sides and rarities spanning his extensive career from ‘1965 to 2019.’ The collection can be streamed now on Spotify or other streaming services and can also be bought on CD for £79.99 including a limited edition A2 artwork poster. The album collection was also available as a set of 9 LP Vinyls although these have sadly now sold out.

Sir Elton John is set to tour starting in October 2021, full UK dates are as follows:

30/10/2021 – AO Arena – Manchester
02/11 – The O2 – London
03/11 – The O2 – London
05/11 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
07/11 – The O2 – London
09/11 – The O2 – London
10/11 – The O2 – London
12/11 – The O2 – London
14/11 – The O2 – London
16/11 – The O2 – London
17/11 – The O2 – London
19/11 – AO Arena – Manchester
21/11 – Resorts World Arena – Birmingham
23/11 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham
24/11 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham
27/11 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
28/11 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
01/12 – AO Arena – Manchester
06/12 – Odyssey – Belfast
09/12 – The Event Complex – Aberdeen
10/12 – The Event Complex – Aberdeen
13/12 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow
14/12 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow