Love Ball - A Charity Gala in support of the Naked Heart Foundation.
Tsaritsino Estate, Moscow, 14 February 2008
Natalia Vodianova gathers stars in Moscow to help raise record-breaking $6 million to support the Naked Heart Foundation, which builds Play Parks for Russian Children.
The most successful charity event in Russia’s recent history
The Love Ball took place on 12-14 February 2008 with a 3 days celebration culminating with the Valentine’s inspired Love Ball, a Gala dinner for more than 400 international and Russian guests in support of Natalia Vodianova’s Naked Heart Foundation. The Honourable Natalia Vodianova Portman and her husband The Honourable Justin Portman; Mr Valentino; Lucy Liu; Natalie Imbruglia; Eva Herzigova; Mario Testino; Diane von Furstenberg; Andrei Shevchenko; Paolo Roversi, Alfonso Cuaron; Rustam Tariko, Russian Standard; Svetlana Zakharova, Prima Ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet; Sati Spivakova, designers Alena Akhmadulina, Denis Simachev, Igor Chapurin, Dasha Zhukova, Elena Yarmak and Gyunel Boateng; Mark Dunhill, Fabergé; Aliona Doletskaya, Vogue Russia; were among those you came out to support the Naked Heart Foundation. The event has been possible thanks to the support of general partner, Russian investment bank Kit Finance and the kind help of organiser Eventica. $6 million were raised mainly through the auction by Christie’s of unique lots specially created under the theme of Love.
Natalia Vodianova, Founder and President of the Naked Heart Foundation, said:
“I want to thank everyone who contributed to the success of The Love Ball. From the very outset of our preparations for the event, I did not for one moment doubt the generous spirit of the Russian business community. For us, the thing that was of crucial importance was that all participants in the event – the organisers, the artists, the auctioneers, even the presenter of the evening, Andrei Malakhov – they all offered their services to the project without asking for anything in return. The results of the evening and the funds raised at the auction exceeded even our most ambitious expectations. I am very thankful to the Russian authorities and my friend Marianna Belshanskaya without who we wouldn’t have had such a beautiful set as Tsaritsino. I do hope that our Ball becomes something of a tradition. As for the money that has been raised – in a very short time we will be working on the designs for new Play Parks in Petrozavodsk, Saransk and Nizhnevartovsk. In total this year, we are planning to create not less than eight play parks for Russian children.”
Re-creating the atmosphere of grandiose 18th Century Catherine the Great-era society balls, The Love Ball was a unique event for our times. 220 tons of ice was used to construct the ‘Ice Palace’, built especially for the event at the Tsaritsino Estate, whilst the latest light technology from Great Britain was employed to highlight the stunning architectural and natural surroundings. In the words of Natalia Vodianova herself “the organisers’ concept to construct an enormous Ice Palace here in Moscow is a revival of the all-but-forgotten tradition of the glittering and sumptuous charity balls, which were once widespread in Imperial Russia.”
The aims of the Love Ball were to present the Naked Heart Foundation to a predominantly Russian audience in Russia, to raise funds for the construction of Play Parks throughout the Russian Federation costing on average $300,000 each, and in addition to further nurture the developing concept of philanthropy in Russia.
Guests were delivered to Tsaritsino in supreme comfort by a private train provided by the Russian Railways. The Love Ball began with a Champagne Reception lit by hundreds of glimmering candles in the surrounds of the Catherine Hall of Tsaritsino Palace. Guests had the opportunity to view the exclusive collection of jewel-encrusted mobile telephones from Vertu’s Signature Diamond range.
Following the Reception, guests were invited to cross the specially-constructed bridge from Tsaritsino Palace to the Ice Palace, floodlit in icy blue light. Ladies in an array of stunning couture dresses were led across the bridge by their black-tie clad partners under gently falling snow, to the accompaniment of the camera flashes of a hundred photo-journalists. In the bitter Moscow cold, guests were given traditional Russian shawls to protect them as they walked from Palace to Ice Palace. Upon entrance to the banquet hall, guests were greeted with beautiful fresh orchid flowers tied with Official Partner Calvin Klein euphoria-scented ribbons.
The opening address of the Ball was delivered by Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Russia, Aliona Doletskaya, who introduced guests to the host of the event – supermodel and founder of the Naked Heart Foundation, Natalia Vodianova – as ‘the national pride of Russia’.
Natalia Vodianova led guests through the activities of the Foundation and introduced the unique auction lots that would go on sale during the evening to raise much-needed funds to build Play Parks in Russia. Natalia’s speech was followed by a film about the Naked Heart, produced by TV journalist – and friend of Natalia – Andrei Loshak. As the film ended, Natalia declared the Love Ball open and the stage was filled by ballerinas from the Bolshoi Ballet with a performance of the ‘Polonaise’ from Eugene Onegin.
The evening’s compere, TV presenter Andrei Malakhov then took to the stage to introduce the auctioneers, Hugh Edmeades, International Chairman of Christie’s and Sandra Nedvedskaya, Christie’s Representative in Russia. The core event of the evening was the charity auction of exclusive lots, all specially contributed for the Love Ball, and all of which are unobtainable by any other means. All funds raised during the auction went directly to the Naked Heart Foundation for the purpose of constructing Play Parks in Russia at an average cost of $300,000 each. The parks are equipped with modern facilities and adhere to international safety standards. The Foundation selects the location of each park, produces designs, implements construction and monitors each stage of the process from conception to opening with the help of their partner KSIL. Today, thanks to the efforts of the Naked Heart Foundation, there are already five children’s Play Parks in Russia – in the Nizhegorodskaya and Kemerovsky Regions and in the Khanty-Mansiisk Autonomous Republic.
The Love Ball auction lots with the kind support of Christie's
The Suit
Andrei Shevchenko, footballer (Chelsea FC) and ‘Face of Armani’, introduced the first lot of the evening – a tuxedo hand tailored made to measure by Giorgio Armani with a trip to Milan to attend front row the designer’s fashion show.
The lot sold for 110,000 euros.
The Love Song
A private performance by rock star Bryan Adams who will at his earliest convenience meet up with the winner of the lot anywhere in the world for the serenade of a lifetime.
The lot was introduced by Bryan Adams himself by satellite link from London and was bought for 90,000 euros.
The Moroccan Adventure
Discovery of the magic culture of Morocco with a honeymoon in the Royal Palace of Marrakech. Ten days royal treatment hosted by HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa.
The lot was contributed by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa and was introduced by the Royal ensemble of Moroccan Drummers. Sold 220,000 euros.
The Orchid
For the first time in its history, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew of London kindly donated the unique opportunity to name a recently discovered species of orchid. This was a very rare chance to name an entirely new species of flower in honor of a loved one, your family or to remember someone special.
The lot was acquired by Rustam Tariko, Founder and President of Russian Standard, for 320,000 euros. A portion of the funds pledged for this lot will go to Kew Gardens.
The Love Bed
A prototype by the designer Philippe Starck. The love bed was Mr. Starck’s vision of the perfect bed for all uses including sleep. Usually these prototype works are dedicated only for museums but by great generosity, it was offered here to benefit the Naked Heart Foundation and to be privately owned. The bed is dressed in an exclusive collection of hand made silk bedding, eel pillows and cashmere blanket by Calvin Klein.
Sold for 50,000 euros.
Following the bidding for this lot, Natalia Vodianova took to the stage to express her thanks to investment bank KIT Finance – and personally to Alexander Vinokurov – the General Partner of The Love Ball who acquired the lot.
The Photo Shoot
Eva Herzigova, Natalia Vodianova and Mario Testino introduced this lot, world famous photographer Mario Testino offered an exclusive shoot featuring the bidder and supermodels for British Vogue. The lot includes one of a limited edition of handmade travel cases for skincare and make-up, created for Lancôme by French luxury label Goyard, inspiring you to transport with ease and elegance all the secrets of beauty.
Sold for 450,000 euros.
The Dress
Natalia Vodianova and Valentino introduced this lot, offering the bidder to make fashion history in Valentino's final haute couture masterpiece. This was a once-in-a lifetime chance to own the wedding dress named ‘Antoinetta’ that crowned the grand finale show of Valentino's legendary career. Sold 600,000 euros.
By way of a ‘gift’ to Valentino to thank him for his generosity in contributing his work for the auction, Andrei Merkuriev, Principal Dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, then gave an exquisite performance on the stage, introduced by Svetlana Zakharova, the Bolshoi’s celebrated Prima Ballerina.
The Open Auction ‘Be a Hero’
One of the most dramatic moments of the Ball came at the Open Auction, as all guests were encouraged to pledge $1000 each to fund a complete play park. To the pulsating beat of David Bowie’s hit ‘Heroes’, one by one guests rose to their feet to commit $1,000 to this very special appeal. The results of this generosity could be seen on the central screen, where a new element of the Play Park was highlighted once enough guests had pledged to fund it. In less than five minutes, the entire Play Park was lit up, signifying funds for a complete park – encouraging one of the British guests to pledge an additional $300,000 for a second park. Rustam Tariko, one of the evening’s most generous benefactors, then took to the stage to proffer a toast – in Imperia vodka – ‘za lyubov’, to love.
The Ultimate Oscars™ for two
Diane von Furstenberg introduced the Hollywood lot, which included staying in the infamous Chateau Marmont, mingle with the stars at the exclusive Oscar™ picnic at Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg's mansion in Beverly Hills, attend the Oscars™ ceremony dressed by LA celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe, celebrate with the Oscar™ winners at the hardest party to get into in the world, the Vanity Fair After Party. Enjoy a VIP adventure at Universal Studios, a private tour and luncheon at the Playboy Mansion accompanied by playmates. Kindly donated by Diane von Furstenberg, Barry Diller, Graydon Carter, Andre Balazs, Rachel Zoe, Hugh Heffner and Universal Studios.
Sold 200,000 euros.
The Painting
Actress Lucy Liu introduced the painting by Damien Hirst, ‘Love is All Around’ (a 2.14x2.14 pink love heart with butterflies) which he specially created to be auctioned to benefit The Naked Heart Foundation.
Sold 1.2 million euros – the most valuable lot of the evening.
I love Paris
French actress and singer Emmanuelle Seignier and her band Ultra Orange performed to introduce this lot: the Ultimate Luxury Long Weekend in the world's most romantic city and an Eiffel Tower composed of Louis Vuitton hard-sided suitcases to be customized with your initials. Stay four days at the stylish Parisian home of Princess Diane von Furstenberg. Dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower at the latest restaurant by legendary chef Alain Ducasse. A private VIP tour and luncheon at Versailles. Dinner at the Bristol Hotel featuring the gastronomic creations of chef Eric Frechon. A private tour of Louis Vuitton's Art Nouveau Asnieres gardens and workshop. A delicious traditional French dinner at home, prepared by Anne-Marie, Diane von Furstenberg's personal cook.
Kindly donated by Princess Diane von Furstenberg, La Maison Louis Vuitton, and L’Hotel Le Bristol.
Sold 160,000 euros.
The Wine
Natalia Vodianova sat on a giant jockey scales on stage for this lot consisting of her weight in rare vintages kindly donated by Baron Eric de Rothschild, owner of Chateau Lafite Rothschild. The selection consisted of four of the finest vintages 1982,1990,2000 and 2005.
Sold 160,000 euros.
The Silent Auction
An 11 carat light fancy yellow cushion shaped diamond (known as the 'candlelight' diamond). The cushion shape is one of the most romantic and historical diamond shapes since the diamond first became the eternal and universal symbol of love. This fabulous diamond, provided by international diamond experts W Nagel London, has been cut by master craftsmen in Smolensk in Russia, the birthplace of some of the finest cut diamonds in the world.
The lot was kindly presented by Adam Nagel. Sold 400.000 euros.
As the auction drew to a close, guests turned their attention to the main stage for the musical entertainment of the evening, provided the group Razorlight, driving guests in ball gowns and dinner jackets to the dancefloor.
The evening ended in the early hours with a steady stream of VIP Bentleys and Mercedeses provided by Garage No1, the official transport partner of the Love Ball conveying guests back to the comfort of their Moscow home-from-home – the Ritz-Carlton Moscow, the official hotel of the event.
Guests left with a generous gift bag contributed by Official Love Ball Partner Calvin Klein Euphoria, containing the fragrance and warm memories of a sensational night in Tsaritsino as well as organic T-shirts by Dasha Zhukova’s brand Kova & T.
The Love Ball, thanks to support from sponsors, auction contributors, bidders and guests succeeded in raising well over $6 million for the construction of children’s Play Parks in Russia. The Love Ball shows that there is in Russia a strong philanthropic instinct, and there are bright prospects for the development of corporate social responsibility from Russian business in the future.
Notes for editors on Tsaritsino, the snow village and the ice-palace
The estate of Tsaritsino is a museum and reserve located in the park of the same name, close to Moscow city centre. It received its current name from ‘Tsarina’ (‘Queen’) when Princess Catherine the Great bought this estate dating from the 16th century in 1775. The restoration of the architecture monuments has been completed recently, revealing the fairytale ensemble of pavilions, pergolas, arbours, artificial grottos and decorative bridges. For the occasion of the ‘Love Ball’. The park was
changed into a snow and ice winter experience with a centrepiece ice palace and marquee for the gala.
Notes about the 3 days program
Guests who had made the trip to Moscow were treated to a 3 day program of activities and entertainment which included:
A gypsy evening in a private residence
Banya in the newly renovated Sanduny Banya of Moscow
A private tour of the Kremlin
Mr Valentino attended dress rehearsals of the Balshoi ballet
Ice skating for 150 orphans on the Red square in the GUM ice rink with a performance by ice-dance Olympic champions 2007 Tatjana Navka & Roman Kostomarov.
A Red dinner for Mr. Valentino over looking the Red Square in GUM with a performance by the Red Army Choir
Notes to editors on the Naked Heart
Natalia Vodianova founded the Naked Heart Foundation in 2005 to help establish a brighter childhood for Russian children. The Naked Heart Foundation, which has received support from donors such as Mick Jagger, Diane Von Furstenberg, Helena Christensen, Steven Klein, Michael Stipe, Oleg Tinkov, Rustam Tariko and Michael Filimonov has opened a $312,000 Play Park in Avtozavodsky, Nijni Novgorod in November 2006 and four more Play Parks since then. The surface of The Naked Heart Play Parks is over 1500m2 and have equipment for children up to the age of 18 including football, basketball and skate-board areas. The Play Parks are the first in Russia to have access for physically challenged children. Natalia Vodianova takes part directly in the design of the equipment with KSIL, experts in the field of constructing Play Parks in Eastern Europe. The complexes are built with the support of local authorities and take an average of 12 weeks from the agreement until the completion of the project. All Naked Heart Play Parks are fenced with a 24h security guard. The Naked Heart’s agreements with authorities ensure the Play Parks are perfectly maintained in the long run.
www.nakedheart.org Contact Valerie-Anne Creps +44 77 4884 7260 val@nakedheart.org and Asya Zalogina asya@nakedheart.org +7916 1000 652.
30,000,000 children in Russia
6,000,000 estimated number of children in poverty
2,000,000 estimated number of children living on the street
600,000 estimated number of children using drugs
150,000 estimated number of children who become criminals every year
28,000 estimated number of children who commit suicide every year
1.7:1 estimated death to birth ratio
Notes and quotes about the Partners and Sponsors
KIT Finance - General Partner
KIT Finance is an independent Russian investment bank and a market leader in securities, investment management and advisory services to corporations, financial institutions and individuals. With 50+ offices in Russia and Eastern Europe KIT Finance provides wide range of services which includes trading and underwriting of securities and derivatives, M&A advisory, brokerage, asset management, private banking and retail banking.
Eventica
Event organiser Eventica is the pro-bono organiser of the Love Ball. Sergei Kolushev, Managing Director, Eventica, commented:
“For a long time, the organisation of charity events in Russia was considered a thankless, even hopeless task. When in April 2007, during the Russian Rhapsody gala event at the Russian Economic Forum in London, we raised $1 million through the auction orgabised by the Naked Heart Foundation, many sceptics put the success down to the fact that the event was held in London. It is precisely because of this that the success of The Love Ball in Moscow is so important not only for the establishment of charity in Russia, but also for the image of Russian business. Here, representatives of the Russian business establishment have demonstrated powerfully that they are prepared not only to ‘take’ – but also to ‘give back’, through their efforts and their funds, for the good of society as a whole.”
Calvin Klein Euphoria
Lori Singer, Global VP of Marketing Calvin Klein Fragrances said: "We at Calvin Klein have enjoyed a long friendship with Natalia, and have been proud to have her as the face of our fragrance euphoria for several years. We are privileged to be able to support Natalia's charity efforts in her native Russia. She is not only a beautiful woman, but has a beautiful heart."
Imperia Vodka
Russian Standard vodka brand Imperia was an Official Partner of the Love Ball. Rustam Tariko, Founder and President, Russian Standard and Member of the Advisory Committee of the Naked Heart Foundation, said: “The work of Natalia Vodianova to help children inspires all of us. I have no doubt that if we all were to follow Natalia’s example, then we would be able to ensure a bright future for the talented children of Russia.”
Christie’s
Hugh Edmeades said: “Christie’s is delighted to support Natalia Vodianova’s The Love Ball charity fundraiser at Tsaritsino. We are proud to have helped to raise such a significant amount for the Naked Heart Foundation by way of the auction. I am pleased to note that this has been the most successful charity auction to have been conducted by Christie’s in Russia.”
Ritz-Carlton, Moscow
The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow kindly accommodated our VIP guests during the events. The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow lies at the edge of the famed Red Square - site of countless coronations, conflicts and celebrations. Today, this symbolic space serves as a cultural epicenter of one of the world’s great cities and invites visitors to share in its many wonders.
