Read Elton John’s entire acceptance speech at the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards, powered by Jaguar

Global music legend Elton John has been named as the recipient of the Legacy Award, supported by Virgin Atlantic, at the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards, powered by Jaguar.

Elton was presented the award by BRIT and Grammy winner Ed Sheeran at tonight’s ceremony (Wednesday 9 October 2024).

He was also joined backstage by Vanessa Williams and Matt Henry, the stars of upcoming musical The Devil Wears Prada, for which Elton has provided original music.

Elton is only the second ever recipient of the Legacy Award, after the first was collected by Prince Harry in 2018 to celebrate his mother, the late Princess Diana, in memory of her allyship and how she changed the perception of HIV by visiting AIDS wards in the 1980s.

Read the ‘Rocket Man’ singer’s entire speech below

Elton’s speech in full

I’m honoured by this award from Attitude magazine. It means a lot because, as a gay man, I’ve always read Attitude magazine.
Thank you all for coming tonight, to see everyone in the show, not just me.
It’s been a long journey for me, with lots of ups and downs, and finally, peace of mind.
The first few years of my career were amazing and very heady, very crazy. Lots of hedonistic things done, lots of success. But I had no real happiness; I was married to my work.
Music saved me – when I was happy, and when I was miserable.
I kept working. My life turned around, and when I got sober in 1990, the thing I wanted to do the most was found a foundation to my life. During the 1980s, I sat on the sidelines and watched everyone else march and do so much for people who were being ignored in the USA and around the world. So, when I did get somewhere, I felt I had to make up for lost time. That’s why I set up the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, in Atlanta. A year later, I set it up in England with Robert Keith, my dear friend. Instead of going out playing concerts, I delivered meals and saw what the real world was like. The EJAF became the real focus of my life. It gave me so much joy, so much pleasure, to honour all the people we lost in the 1980s. It’s still going strong. Now, my husband David is the CEO and chairman of the foundation, and so far, we’ve raised 600 million dollars. I’m so happy to be a gay man. I love my husband, my children – I have benefits as a gay man I never thought I’d be able to have. It’s been the most incredible success.
Thank you, David, I love you so, so, so very much. We’ve come a long way. And we’re very lucky to live in a country that gives us the rights we have. But there are still people who don’t have those rights, and I intend to fight for those rights until the day I die. Peter Tatchell is my hero, and all you guys out there, I love you so much.
Is this it? Is this the award? What does ‘A’ stand for?
‘Arsehole’ comes to mind! But let’s not talk about Elon Musk tonight – let’s have a good time!

“I love being gay. I can’t tell you how much I love it” – Elton John

Of course, Elton is more than deserving. His incredible career has spanned seven decades, in which time he’s not only become one of the most significant musical and cultural figures, but also a figurehead of the UK’s LGBTQ+ community. Meanwhile, as an activist, his Elton John AIDs Foundation has raised over $600 million to support over 3,100 projects in 95 countries globally to end AIDS.

In his exclusive Attitude cover interview to support his award, Elton reflected on the moment he came out as gay in a 1992 interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

“It was like a freedom for me,” he said. “There wasn’t any big guilt on my shoulders saying, ‘I’m gay, I can’t come out.’ I was enjoying being gay and I’ve always enjoyed it since I came out [of] the closet. I love being gay. I can’t tell you how much I love it.”

The ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ singer also spoke about his upcoming documentary Never Too Late, which comes to Disney+ in December.

“There’s no talking heads,” he said, “I narrate it and it’s what happened between the first Dodger Stadium show when I was on top of the world, but not on top of the world personally, and to the next show, years later, where I am on top of the world, and I know I’m going to be quitting the road, and I’ve got the best husband and the best children.”

He added: “I wanted to finish at the top, which I think we did.”

Elton is one of five cover stars for the new issue of Attitude. He’s joined by pop icon Lulu, DJ and producer The Blessed Madonna, ‘Juice’ star Mawaan Rizwan and 2024 Eurovision winner Nemo.

To read the full interview with Elton, order your copy of the Attitude Awrdes issue 2024 now or check out the Attitude app.