ELTON EXPO-75 CANCELLATION OF EVENT MAY 20, 2022

When Elton announced his retirement and that the Goodbye tour would be his last, I decided that there should be a final Elton Expo to commemorate Elton’s career and give fans one final opportunity to celebrate their favourite artist.

My first thought was to make the Elton Expo-75 the largest and most exciting expo ever. Looking at other fan events such as Comicon, gave me a vision for what fans would enjoy and the activities that they would want to be a part of. We had a ‘Field of Dreams’ strategy. If we build it, they will come.

We began by finding a large venue and selecting a date…..then Covid hit, and everything was put on hold. When things started to open again, we finally were able find a venue and schedule a date for the expo. After much deliberation and exhaustive searches, we settled on the Heritage Court building, at Exhibition Place for the weekend of Sept. 9-11th, 2022. The space is 33,000. Sq ft. and would have a stage set up and room for exhibitors and vendors as well as being able to accommodate almost 1000. attendees. Cost for rental space for the expo was approximately $25,000.

The next step was to get special guests to attend the expo, mainly to attempt to get Elton John, Bernie Taupin and David Furnish to attend the expo. Towards that end, I reached out to Heather Taupin directly and candidly asked; “what will it take to get Bernie to attend our expo?” We discussed the event and I assured her that we would comply with every security and interview requirements that were requested to ensure Bernie’s participation. At the same time, I also reached out to Brian Liss, of the Liss Gallery in Toronto as they are the gallery that manages the exhibit of Bernie’s artwork here in Canada. Brian Liss gave me a list of requirements that he expected in order to not only display Bernie’s artwork, but also other conveniences that he required to accommodate Bernie’s participation. This included…

2000 sq ft of display area (for the artwork) with lighting, display hanging grids, wifi and electrical capability

2 first-class round-trip airline tickets LA to Toronto return

5 nights accommodations at a 5-star hotel

a VIP reception for (his) clients, plus a private ‘backstage’ area for clients

shipping costs, local and international should any artwork need to be brought in from LA

a $5. Million dollar insurance policy for the artwork to be on display.

There were some other minor items as well, but I/we did agree to all of the items listed above. We felt that by doing this that we had secured Bernie and Heather’s participation in the expo. In the background of all these discussions, we reached out to Elton and David, through the Elton John Aids Foundation and Rocket Entertainment, both in the U.S and the U.K. via fax, email and registered mail.

Heather Taupin had expressed that if we confirmed that Elton would attend the event, that Bernie would as well. We worked diligently to communicate with Elton and David directly to have them agree to attend. We sent letters, faxes and emails to: The Elton John Aids Foundation, Rocket Entertainment, EltonJohn.com as well as to agent; Howard Rose, their publicist Fran Curtis, as well as family, friends and home addresses. I must say that the first response we received from EJAF/Rocket was that Elton and David would not be able to attend the event because of the tour schedule. We regarded this as ‘the usual response’ but also replied that Elton would be in town that the week and we would welcome having him ‘drop by’ the expo.

The plans for the expo were falling in to place as well. One thing we decided to have as part of the expo was a fundraising event to help support EJAF. We decided to have a VIP Fundraising Reception where we would invite celebrities, musicians, corporate, political, social and media dignitaries to attend. Our objective was to raise over $1. Million+ dollars for the Elton John Aids Foundation. We reached out to EJAF to notify them of the event and garner their support for the fundraiser. Through emails and letters, we were able to secure a conference call with EJAF. On that call, we discussed what the fundraising event would entail, plus discussions on having EJAF participate in the expo. We laid out some opportunities for EJAF including.

· Set-up a kiosk/booth at the expo to distribute information, discuss EJAF work, accept charitable donations from attendees

· Have a representative from EJAF deliver the opening keynote address for the expo

· Provide an in-depth interview and advertising in the Elton Expo-75 event program and on-site

· Allow transparent/full access to event sponsorship information, funding, financial and accounting records

· Provide an event/attendees information database

· Maintain daily contact with EJAF for consultation, progress and advice for the event

· Provide EJAF with 80% of the revenues raised (after expenses) from the VIP fundraising reception

We were asked to put together a proposal to EJAF, in which we reiterated the items discussed and some other options talked about on the call. It was at this point that we felt confident that EJAF would accept our proposal, and that they had alerted/informed Elton and David of our event and our intentions.

While we were awaiting the response to our proposal, we began to focus on the invitation list. We subscribed to an online database called The Handbook, which provides contact information on celebrities. The cost to subscribe to this service is approximately $150. per month.

The Handbook celebrity database provides contact information on most all celebrities you are looking for. For example, you can search for someone (ie; Madonna) and find their profile which includes the names, addresses, phone, fax and email information for their agents, publicists, record label, lawyer, TV, radio and media contacts. This can be an extensive list for some celebrities. For example, Madonna may have 12 people who help manage her career. Our objective then became that we would send a pre-invite letter to the hundreds of celebrities we deemed would want to attend Elton Expo-75 and those who had a personal connection with Elton and David. We also included those individuals who had attended previous EJAF fundraising events and sponsors.

There were thousands of pre-invitation letters sent out, inviting hundreds of celebrities. Postage costs as you can imagine, was exorbitant. We also included family and friends of Elton and David as well as the Elton John band and many Elton associates. We kept Heather Taupin and Brian Liss informed of our progress and we had meetings with the managers of a Toronto hotel called The X-Hotel, which is located on the same grounds as the Heritage Court building we had booked for the expo. The hotel was spectacular. The rooms were beautiful, and the hotel maintained several bars, conference rooms, a movie theatre and art gallery. This allowed us to ‘soft-book’ several amenities like the bar for a private reception, the art gallery to showcase Bernie’s work. Items that the Liss Gallery requested to participate in the expo. The hotel was above 5-stars, with the average nightly room rate being approximately $1000. per night. Word was that Elton had stayed in the Presidential Suite of the X-Hotel, at a cost of $8000. a night.

Things were looking positive for the expo. But then we encountered our first obstacle. The Elton John Aids Foundation turned down our proposal. The reason given was that they were too busy dealing with other events and that they could not dedicate the time or personnel needed to manage this event. They also informed us that we could not use the EJAF logo on our website or in any promotional materials. They would however ‘accept our cheque’. We were extremely disappointed. We were hoping that they would at least endorse or acknowledge the VIP Fundraising Reception and help promote it to their donors or at least mention it in their online/email efforts.

This caused another problem for us as well. We needed to identify what charity we were going to have the fundraising event for when we filed for the permit to hold the event. This was an issue, but we informed EJAF of that. The other obstacle that we had to deal with (unbeknownst to us) was that we had the impression that Elton and David were apprised of the Elton Elton-75 event and the VIP Fundraising Reception we planned to raise funds for EJAF. This was unfortunately not the case.

In one of our messages with Heather Taupin we were informed that she had talked to David Furnish and he stated he had no knowledge of the event, or that they had any intention (at that time) of attending. This set off a series of messages where I was accused of lying and misleading Heather regarding Elton and David’s knowledge and participation in the expo. I had no idea that Elton and David weren’t informed of the event or what we had planned, even though we had reached out to them directly.

Discussions with the Taupin’s, EJAF and Rocket Entertainment came to a halt at that point. We were at a crossroads. Should we proceed with the expo or cut our losses and cancel everything. I decided to take a week to think things over and decide. During that week, I received a letter from a fan who expressed his gratitude and appreciation for all the work and effort East End Lights/ I… put in for the fans. This is what it really came down too.

We decided to soldier on with the event and worked on getting VIP’s and guests to attend. We began mailing out postcard invitations to our Handbook celebrity list of VIPs, agents, publicists etc…again, the postage costs was a major expense.

One other item that we investigated was to have/declare Sept. 9th, 2022, as Elton John, Bernie Taupin and David Furnish day in Canada and the City of Toronto as well. We received a letter back from the Prime Minister of Canada’s office stating that they do not proclaim National Day of Recognition…HOWEVER it is permitted that the event/organization to proclaim that on their own accord. We also were informed that the Governor General of Canada can send a letter to the organizers acknowledging the event in Canada, all we had to do was to submit a formal request.

Over and above that, we made sure that every politician in Canada, from the Prime Minister of down, were mailed a VIP invitation. This included all City of Toronto councilors and the mayor. We had been in discussions with the City of Toronto about the event and having them proclaim a day of recognition for Elton, Bernie and fellow Canadian David Furnish as well as having the city present them all with the Key to the City.

It was at this point where the shit hit the fan. The lawyers got involved. General Counsel for Elton John and David Furnish sent us an interesting email and stated the following: (below you will find the email message from their lawyer and our response)

Dear Kevin

By way of introduction, I am general counsel for Elton John and David Furnish, and EJAF.

Thank you for all of your emails and detail on the Elton Expo 75 set for September 2022 in Toronto. Unfortunately, this will not be an event that either Elton nor David will be able to attend.

It is also not possible for this to be an official event in partnership with the Elton John AIDS Foundation (“EJAF”) because EJAF does not affiliate itself with major third parties when EJAF is not managing all aspects of the high value event. We understand your offer to do this in collaboration with us, however, unfortunately, it is just not the process that EJAF follows to side by side manage beneficiary events.

We ask that you kindly update us on who you have been speaking with at the Canadian Federal and Toronto Mayoral governments to assign an Elton and David Day as the use of their names or affiliation has not been approved, and we ask that no announcement is made.

We wish that you continue to run the Elton Expos as you have previously and if there are profits to benefit to EJAF, then that is a wonderful donation that we will gratefully accept. However, regrettably we cannot align ourselves with your event as an official partner.

Best

Elanzo

Elanzo Burgess

General Counsel T: +44 20 7348 4800 F: +44 20 7348 4801 Rocket Office of Sir Elton John and David Furnish rocketentertainment.com Rocket, 1 Blythe Road, London, W14 0HG

Greetings Elanzo,

Thank you for reaching out to us. I appreciate the communication.

I must say that I am a little puzzled as to why the legal department needs to be alerted to our event. I expect that it could be that our event has come to the attention of Elton & David, either via our communication with EJAF/Rocket Entertainment, or via our pre-invitation letters that we have mailed out too many high-profile celebrities and guests.

Our original scheduled date for the Expo was March 25th-27th, 2022. however, due to some scheduling conflicts we were forced to postpone the Expo and reschedule it for Sept. 9-11th, 2022. At past Elton Expo’s we have always provided attendees the opportunity to bid on items donated to the event and given the funds to EJAF. When we decided to hold our ‘Farewell’ Elton Expo, our primary goal was/is to make the event the largest Expo ever held, and in turn, having our donation to EJAF be more than just a few thousand dollars.

Given our lofty objectives, we began to entertain every opportunity that will help us achieve our goals. This is how the idea of proclaiming a day in honour of Elton and David came to be. Through our research we discovered that any organization or event is permitted to proclaim a recognition day on their own accord. Which is what we have decided to do. With respect to gaining support from the City of Toronto, we have notified every city councilor and the mayor’s office of our event.

With respect to EJAF and their decision not to partner with Elton Expo-75, we completely understand and accept their position. Although disappointed, we’re conscious to keep Elton and David’s passion for their charity as the major beneficiary and focal point of our event. When we first reached out to EJAF to invite Elton and David to attend the Expo (originally scheduled for his birthday weekend in March) and were informed that they would not be able to attend due to the Oscars being held that same weekend. We rescheduled the event for Sept. 2022. Since Elton will be performing in Toronto on Sept. 7th, we felt that attendees would come to Toronto for the concert and attend the Expo. This scenario has always worked in our favour in the past and encouraged more attendance.

In the background, as with previous events, we have been in contact with many of Elton and Bernie’s associates, friends, and professional colleagues to discuss their possible participation in attending the Expo. This has always been at the heart of every Elton Expo. We also reached out to Heather Taupin and asked what would be required to have Bernie attend our event. After providing assurances of security and Q&A concerns, we sensed that we had addressed their needs. We also contacted The Liss Gallery in Toronto, who manages Bernie’s artwork here, and offered them an arrangement to display Bernie’s artwork at the Expo. They too have been quite supportive. Of course, we continued to keep Heather abreast of our efforts and progress, which included our communication with EJAF and our efforts to reach out to Elton and David directly. Things looked promising. Then somehow things abruptly came to a stop and we’re not quite sure why.

We have only done what we have always set out to do with each Expo: To the fullest extent, give fans from around the world an opportunity to display their appreciation for the works of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Personally, being Canadian, I am very proud of David Furnish and all he has done for Elton and EJAF. I have had the opportunity to meet David a few times in the past. Ironically, both of us have worked with the same individual (Marilyn Stewart) in our past lives. I’m confident that if Elton and David were made aware of our intentions and sincerity regarding our event, that they would acknowledge our Expo and be supportive of our efforts and what we are trying to accomplish.

At the insistence of the fans, we are moving ahead with the expo. As mentioned earlier, we want to make this the largest Elton Expo ever. To that end, we have booked a venue that holds over 1000 people. We are inviting all fans, celebrities, singers, entertainers, media personalities, athletes, publicists, agents, and political dignitaries. We are continuing to line up key speakers and guests, as well as sponsors and advertisers to help support the event. We are also talking to other event organizers and festivals scheduled around the same time as our event to look at opportunities to partner with us.

Finally, I understand that having Elton and David attend the Expo is unlikely. However, the invitation remains open to them and their families to attend. They will be in Toronto that week and are certainly welcome to drop by. As you know, an appearance or acknowledgement of the Expo would go a long way towards the success of the event. Regardless, it would be helpful if Elton and David were kept appraised of the event or at least be made aware of the Expo and the benefits for EJAF. At the very least, I would like to have confirmation from EJAF pertaining to our invitation regarding having them deliver the keynote address and having a presence at the Expo. This in no way would be an indication that EJAF is partnering with the event, rather it is an invitation to use the Elton Expo as a platform for their work.

The Elton Expo has always been a fan driven event. Attendees come from all over the world to show their appreciation for Elton, Bernie, David, and their work. The Elton Expo’s always bring out the die-hard Elton fans. Fans who have been loyal and supportive to Elton throughout his career. Our Expo is in no way an effort to try and overshadow any other event or function, we are simply trying to organize an event that honours and respects Elton John, Bernie Taupin and David Furnish.

I appreciate your communication and interest in Elton Expo-75. I am always available to field any questions that Elton, David, and Bernie may have, and I hope that we can work together to bring about a successful event that benefits everyone.

Warmest Regards,

Kevin Bell

Principal

Elton Expo-75

I think we did a good job of outlining our sincerity for wanting to help everyone involved. Elton, David, Bernie, EJAF and the fans. We wanted to be able to host a great event, with several VIPs, a fundraiser to help EJAF, the venues for Bernie to showcase his artwork, and award presentations. However, I also had a sense that we had ruffled a few feathers with our event. In my opinion, this letter reflected an concern that Elton and David, EJAF or Rocket Entertainment were not involved and perhaps wanted to control things. We were planning and doing things that could potentially make Elton Expo-75 a major event.

Such as, since it was most likely going to Elton’s final concert in Toronto we decided that we would design a Canadian Lifetime Achievement Award and have a presentation ceremony at the VIP Reception. The Canadian Lifetime Achievement Awards were going to be given to the following individuals:

· Elton John

· David Furnish

· Bernie Taupin

ALSO:

· Davey Johnstone

· Nigel Olsson

· Ray Cooper

We were also expanding the recognition awards to include an Elton Expo-75 Fan Award, which we would be presenting to:

· John Mahon

· Matt Bissonette

· Kim Bullard

· Adam Chester

· Matt Still

· John Jorgenson

· Kiki Dee

AND POSTHUMOUSLY TOO:

· Gus Dudgeon

· Dee Murray

· Bob Birch

· Guy Babylon

· Roger Pope

We did reach out to everyone involved, and quite honestly, we received little to no response. I was informed however that the tour management company AEG had imposed several Covid restrictions upon everyone involved with the tour including that they were not allowed to participate or associate with anything or anyone outside of the tour community. This may have impacted the lack of response or commitment for the expo. Our strategy was the ‘Field of Dreams’ approach…if we build it, they will come. So, we carried on with trying to get VIP’s, special guests, and attendees. But since the event was still 6 months away at that time, we wanted to connect with AEG and try to work out a compromise.

We also wanted to have several organizations and partners to help with and promote Elton Expo-75. We had talks with the Toronto International Film Festival, whose event started the same weekend as the expo. We had approached Pride Toronto and discussed mutual benefits of our expo and their parade. We contacted Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, to discuss having some of Toronto’s sports celebrities attend the VIP Fundraising Reception. We contacted Universal Music and presented them with the opportunity to participate/partner with the expo. They weren’t receptive to being involved. Several other companies, organizations, and government offices, including Municipal, Provincial and Federal levels were also not quick to respond to our efforts.

And this is when we heard from the lawyer…again. (see below)

Dear Kevin

I write with reference to your email to my colleague Louise O’Shea dated 1 March 2022.

Regrettably it will not be possible for a representation from EJAF to be at the event in Toronto as we do not have anyone locally based nor can we donate any items to the auction at this time.

As I am sure you can understand, after two years of no live events, we are focused on a few major fundraising events of our own that we need to maximise for the Foundation.

As per our previous communication, please can you elaborate further on who you have been in touch with regards to the designation of Elton John, David Furnish and Bernie Taupin day in Canada. This has not been approved by them or their teams and therefore, any contact with the government or city officials has not been authorised.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best

Elanzo

Elanzo Burgess

General Counsel T: +44 20 7348 4800 F: +44 20 7348 4801 Rocket Office of Sir Elton John and David Furnish rocketentertainment.com Rocket, Hythe House, 200 Shepherds Bush Road London W6 7NL

Greetings Elanzo,

As you can imagine, I am extremely disappointed that EJAF will not be on-hand at the expo. Perhaps in lieu of this, EJAF could provide us with a previous interview or press media kit that we can re-print and put in our commemorative Expo-75 program. I would also have hoped that EJAF would be able to provide/donate any items to the expo that we may include in the silent auction at the VIP reception. Things like tickets to Elton’s final show at Dodger Stadium in L.A, the British Royal Mint Coin or autographed items that we can display at the fundraiser. Also, is there any opportunity for EJAF to at least mention our event in their email newsletter, since the VIP Fundraising Reception is to help support EJAF? I’m not thinking of any type of endorsement from EJAF, but perhaps in an events calendar that mentions organizations that are hosting their own fundraising events to raise funds for EJAF. Please let me know.

With respect to who we have been in contact with the Canadian Government, as mentioned in a previous email, according to the Prime Minister’s office in Canada they do not officially designate special days, however, that honour can be bestowed by the organization or the event committee itself. Which is what we have decided to do on our own accord. I fail to see how restricting the authorized use of their names cannot be in any way beneficial to them for this event. Also, the Governor General’s office can/will be providing a letter of recognition to East End Lights for the event itself. Which gives us a certain level of credibility regarding the expo. That is also why as part of the expo, we will be recognizing: Elton John, David Furnish and Bernie Taupin with Lifetime Achievement Awards. Might, Elton, David or Bernie, consider dropping by at the last minute in order to receive their awards, that would greatly improve the number of attendees and VIPs at the reception and in turn increase donations being raised for EJAF. As you know, Elton will be in Toronto on Sept. 7 & 8/22 for a concert, and his next show is scheduled for Sept. 10th in Syracuse NY, a one-hour flight from Toronto, so there is a window of opportunity for he and David to drop, even briefly. I presume that they will be in Toronto most of that week visiting family anyway.

With respect to the City of Toronto recognizing a special day, that effort seems to have stalled for now. We will however be filing a request to retain the ‘Key to the City’ honour for Elton, David and Bernie and expect that to be forthcoming shortly.

Finally, we have sent out thousands of VIP invitations to many TV and film celebrities, musicians, artists, agents, and publicists encouraging them to come to the expo. Many of them are personal friends or associates of Elton and David, so I trust that Elton, David, and Bernie have all been informed and are fully aware of the expo, just so they are not caught off guard if someone should mention it in conversation.

I hope this answers your questions. Please get back to me on the points raised. I look forward to hearing back from you soon. Thanks again,

Kevin

It was at this point where I began to get concerned about any legal restrictions that may come into play. I was even more confident now that this event, which has always been an East End Lights managed event, was coming down to a question of control. The mentioning again of requesting who we were talking to within the Government, and that we didn’t have ‘permission’ to use their names, in my opinion this indicated that.

It may also have had some impact on the lack of response and support we were encountering. Now, I can’t state this for certain, but perhaps word came down that discouraged anyone from participating in the expo. We have never encountered any such obstacles before, so why was it happening now? I felt I was up against a wall, and I felt a little threatened.

While we were still arranging special guests and speakers for the event, I decided I would go to California and try to connect with Elton’s agent, publicist, the tour company, other Elton associates, the EJ Band and possibly even Elton or David themselves. Depending upon what happens in California, I was going to return home with a confirmation. (Y/N)?

In California, I made hundreds of phone calls to try to contact the agencies that managed several of the celebrity VIPs we had invited. I made calls to publicists, agents, record companies, etc. I was able to connect with the Howard Rose Agency and provide info on our event. I contacted AEG and told them about the expo and that we could partner on the event. They seemed excited, but no one got back to me to follow up. I reached out to the EJ band, and again, no response. I felt like I had failed. I wanted so much to be able to host an event that everyone involved would benefit from. An event that provided opportunities to all; Elton, Bernie, David, EJAF, the Elton John Band and associates, The Liss Gallery, Rocket Entertainment, Universal Music, AEG, the City of Toronto, the Government of Canada, and of course the EJ fans and supporters around the world.

I came home, disillusioned and hurt, and to another email from the lawyer. It was just a repeat of what was asked before and again, the mention of ‘not having permission’.

I gave up…despite all the good intentions, all the hard work, all the time and money (approximately $60,000) costs for postcards, mailings, website design, letterhead, PO box rental, cell phone, travel, phone calls, emails, presentations, meetings, even hiring staff…..It was over. And what I’ve written here doesn’t even cover half of the bullshit and aggravation I endured while organizing this event.

I can’t state this for certain, but I do believe that at some point word came down from a higher power that since Elton Expo-75 was not a sanctioned event, that any participation by those invited would not be condoned. Again, I can’t, nor would I be able to confirm this.

This entire experience has made me extremely hurt, completely disillusioned, and jaded towards everything Elton. So now I’ve gone dark. I’ve shut down all social media/online communication, changed my address, disconnected my cell phone etc.…. Frankly, I’m dumping Elton. Given the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent over the years for concerts, plays, travel, expo's, EEL magazine, EJ memorabilia, the records, the CD's, the DVD's, the posters, the pinball machine, the swag and charitable donations from East End Lights and their subscribers. This experience has made me realize that it doesn't matter and it seems that no one cares. (Except the fans) ..... I know Elton doesn’t owe me anything for being a die-hard fan for 50 years or for trying to put together this event, but I would have hoped he would have at least acknowledged or supported the endeavor.