Trump and Biden campaigns target donations with rival London fundraisers

The US election campaign came to London on Wednesday evening, as an Aussie pop star and the editor of Vogue hosted rival fundraising events to reel in thousands of dollars in donations.

Holly Valance, the former Neighbours actress who topped the pop charts in the early 2000s, hosted the pro-Donald Trump event in West London at which ticket prices started at $10,000 (£7,800), one guest told the BBC.

Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, meanwhile, hosted a fundraiser in support of Joe Biden’s campaign, a Biden campaign official confirmed. Tickets were said to have cost $1,000 each.

Only US citizens and permanent residents were able to make donations.

Donald Trump’s son, Donald Jr, was among the guests at the Republican fundraiser. He said afterwards it had been “incredible” and had raised lots of money, CBS News reported.

Asked about the Hunter Biden guilty verdict, he said it was a “decoy to cover up all the actual corruption that was going on in that administration”.

Trump’s ally Nigel Farage, the Reform UK party leader, also attended the event. Boxer Derek Chisora was pictured arriving wearing a cap with Trump’s “make America great again” slogan.

Greg Swenson, the chairman of Republicans Overseas, confirmed to the BBC that tickets cost from $10,000-$100,000.

For dinner, it was $50,000 per couple. Mr Swenson acknowledged it was a “big-ticket” event, but insisted the Republicans were the “party of the people” and highlighted the entry fees for rival Democratic events.

The most expensive tickets for one of Mr Biden’s events in New York in March cost half a million dollars each.

Speaking before the fundraiser, Mr Swenson said he would be “surprised” if Trump Sr did not make a virtual appearance, having been at other events at which the ex-president “chimes in”.

The London location was near the Chelsea Embankment in an exclusive area. At the door, a man in a suit and umbrella welcomed guests dropped off in front of polished black gates on Wednesday.

The property’s website describes the venue as a “hub for entertainment and relaxation”, including wine cellar, swimming pool, spa and IMAX cinema.

Not everyone at the site felt warmly toward Trump, however – a woman with an American accent shouted “vote Biden” from a building nearby.

Trump has lagged behind his rival in fundraising efforts during the race so far, but his recent conviction in a New York hush-money trial prompted donations of tens of millions of dollars, according to his campaign team.

The party was “killing it with small donations”, Mr Swenson said, after Americans were left “shocked at the justice system”.

Valance, 41, is perhaps better known to millions in Britain and Australia for her 2002 song Kiss Kiss, and its racy video that took the pop world by storm.

She been linked to Mr Farage and Trump since being pictured alongside the two politicians in 2022, along with her entrepreneur husband Nick Candy.

There was no immediate response to a BBC request for comment that was sent to the Candy Foundation, the couple’s charity.

Few details were available about the rival Democratic event hosted by Anna Wintour.

The timing of the rival London events was pure coincidence, insisted Sharon Manitta, global press secretary for Democrats Abroad.

Ms Manitta said her organisation – which operates separately from the Biden campaign – had organised a further event, a comedy night in Greenwich, for which tickets were selling for the more modest sum of $60.

“We figure we need a bit of comedy now in this craziness,” she told the BBC.