Bill Clinton to attend AIDS charity gala in Cannes

Former President Bill Clinton walks by after addressing a meeting at a university in Lima March 27, 2009.

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will address the annual amfAR charity gala that raises money for AIDS research during the Cannes film festival on France's southern coast.

The event on May 21, to be hosted by actress Sharon Stone and movie producer Harvey Weinstein, will include the traditional auction where celebrities offer unusual rewards for anyone willing to pay up.

At last year's auction, Madonna sold what was billed as a "private concert" for $560,000, and the evening raised over $10 million overall for amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research).

Scottish singer Annie Lennox will perform at the event, to be held for the first time at the exclusive Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, near Cannes.

The foundation's annual "Cinema Against AIDS" galas have been held since 1993 and generated nearly $44 million for research into AIDS and HIV prevention.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato))

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