Olivia Newton-John died on August 8, 2022 at her home in Southern California after a long-term battle with cancer.
Now, over six months later, Olivia’s life has been remembered d at an official memorial service that was held on Sunday, February 26rd.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews worked with Olivia’s niece, Tottie Goldsmith, to plan the service.
This afternoon thousands of fans, along with Olivia’s nearest and dearest, convened at the Hamer Hall in Melbourne, for the 90 minute long celebration of the 73-year-old’s life.
Guests walked up an orange carpet, which was a nod to the late musicians favourite colour.
Magda Szubanski, Molly Meldrum and Patti Newton on the orange carpet.
(Credit: (Images: Getty))Olivia’s husband, John Easterling, was the man who stayed by Olivia’s side right until the end, and he spoke at the memorial, telling stories about his beloved wife that people had never heard before.
One of these stories was on how the two got engaged, which he explained happened when he tricked ONJ to actual propose to him with a game of charades where he acted out the words, ‘will you marry me?’
When speaking about watching his wife perform for the first time, he admitted that he wasn’t a prior fan of Olivia’s music before meeting her, having not had listened to any of her songs, and shockingly, admitting “I’d never even seen Grease.”
John spoke of watching Olivia sing for the first time, saying “”Olivia was a healer, this [singing] was one of her mediums of healing.”
(Credit: (Image: Getty))Olivia’s only child, Chloe Lattanzi, was accompanied to the stage by her husband, who supported his wife during her speech by standing behind her.
She spoke lovingly of her mother, and the close bond the two had was evident when Chloe emotionally spoke of her grief, saying, “I feel like a little girl, lost without her mother.”
WATCH: Olivia Newton-John’s daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, gives tribute at the state memorial
With a Hollywood career spanning over almost 50 years, it would come as no surprise that A-list stars were involved in the celebration of ONJ’s life.
The service included video messages from local and international celebrities – Dolly Parton, Nicole Kidman, Sir Cliff Richard, Pink, Sir Barry Gibb, Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, RuPaul, Hugh Jackman, Tina Arena, Richard Marx and Elton John.
Richard Wilkins also stood up to speak about his dear friend, keeping his composure together until the very end.
To close the service, Delta Goodrem, who played Olivia in the biopic of her life, performed a six-minute medley of the biggest hits ONJ produced.
