Everyone likes a party and some celebrities
really know how to celebrate!

1. Elton John’s 60th

Elton John certainly knows how to party and he spent a reported £1m on this one. He wore a fabulous Louis Quinze costume and enormous wig and needless to say the guest list was stellar. He hired St John the Divine, New York’s huge Gothic cathedral, for the event although it is believed he also had smaller parties in London as well.

2. P Diddy’s extravagant 40th

This topped Elton’s spend by almost double – and he didn’t even have a fancy costume and huge wig! The orchids alone cost £20k however, so it is easy to see where the money went. The event was a gathering of hip-hop royalty and was a paparazzi dream, as it was held in the centre of New York at the Plaza on Fifth Avenue.

3. Kate Moss's 40th

Cunning Kate fooled the paparazzi this January when she held her party in London’s Mayfair rather than on Richard Branson’s private island, Necker. In true Moss style, there was much tumbling into taxis looking a little tired and emotional, but a good time seemed to be had by all. The Island was given to Kate Moss for one week to use exclusively for her celebrations. The guestlist included Sadie Frost, James Brown and Annabelle Nielson amongst many other famous faces.

4. Simon Cowell’s one-of-a-kind 50th

This party had the whole world watching as A-list celebrities arrived by the limousine-load. The food was not really A-list, being retro ‘school dinner’ with alphabet spaghetti and fish fingers, but it doesn’t have to be posh when the party takes place in the stunning setting of Wrotham Park. Limos brought guests from London and further afield and Simon himself was the last to leave as dawn was breaking. The theme was very Simon-esque with a giant mural of the great man himself on the ceiling, plus waiters adorning Simon masks. The cost for Simon’s birthday was estimated at £1m and hosted by Sir Philip Greene and his wife Tina.

5. George Clooney’s Venetian wedding

Whatever parties have been thrown in 2014, the wedding of George Clooney and lawyer Amal Alamuddin in Venice in September has to be the biggest and most covered by the press. Taking place over several days, it was a miracle of the party planner’s art, with canal boats, chapels and crowds all working together like clockwork. The wedding took place at the famous Cipriani hotel in Venice, followed by a second reception organised by Amal’s parents at Danesfield house, Buckinghamshire. The estimated cost: £8 million.

6. Kate Hudson’s glamorous Halloween

Kate Hudson gives a Halloween party every year but 2014 was a cracker, with Kate and her mother, Goldie Hawn, dressed as bikers. The guest list was a who’s who of Hollywood and musical royalty and it seems amazing that any other party on that night could do as well – a party planner’s nightmare; clashing dates!

7. Oprah Winfrey’s 50th on live TV

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Oprah kicked off her birthday celebrations on her chat show, with guests then going on to the party later. This must have been a worry for the party planner – enough can go wrong at a party anyway, without live TV in the mix!

8. The Queen’s two birthdays

Unlike the rest of us who would all like to have two birthdays, Queen Elizabeth II really does – her actual date of birth and her official birthday. London loves to cheer her and the Trooping of the Colour in June every year draws enormous crowd and is a must-see event worldwide on TV.

9. Matthew Morrison’s Halloween

Thank goodness Matthew Morrison of Glee has different friends from Kate Hudson, because his party was also a fancy dress Halloween extravaganza. Catering for a younger crowd, they all seemed to have a blast and, following as it did upon his wedding, it was a double celebration.

10. Sir Philip Green’s star-studded 60th

You would be forgiven if you didn’t immediately recognise Sir Philip Green (head of Arcadia Group) if you passed him in the street. With an eye-watering £6.5m cost, his 60th was possibly the most star-studded of the lot. Famous names were in attendance such as Leonardo di Caprio and Naomi Campbell – and this event trumped the £5m party he had five years earlier to celebrate his 55th. Oh, and just so everyone knew whose birthday it was, the party planners made sure they were all wearing tee shirts with Sir Philip’s initials on!