Birthday Party.

The Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City hosted Elton John's 60th birthday party last night:

The bacchanal for 400 guests included $18,000 worth of exotic flowers, 1,000 bottles of champagne and a large dessert mound of sticky toffee pudding - Sir Elton's favorite.

The stars which came out to sparkle for John's big night included Bette Midler, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Donatella Versace, Michael Stipe, Jon Bon Jovi, Michael Caine, Richard Gere, Barbara Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Kid Rock, Liv Tyler, Whoopi Goldberg, and Rod Stewart.

Diane Sawyer and Emma Thompson showed up giggling arm and arm, and newlywed Elizabeth Hurley even cut short her honeymoon with hubby Arun Nayar to join the fracas.

The dress code was "elegant black tie" - a far cry from Sir Elton's 50th-birthday shindig, when he showed up for the costume ball in a $100,000 Louis XIV outfit, complete with a towering white wig.

This time, the affair was to be a lot more muted. Tasteful white flowers filled the church. And in keeping with the religious atmosphere, tables were adorned with silver drinking chalices.

The altar was set up as a stage for the performers, which included the trendy rock group Scissor Sisters, Sting and Paul McCartney.

Here's the whole fabulous thing, via David Virtue.