Australian rapper the Kid Laroi and Melbourne indie-folk singer Vance Joy have lent their star power to a White House state dinner in honour of the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and his partner, Jodie Haydon.
A Gen Z icon, the Kid Laroi invited his mother, Sloane Howard, to be his guest and appeared under his professional name. Joy was invited under his legal name, James Keogh, and attended with his wife, Selen Us.
The Australian contingent at the black-tie affair also included Indigenous voice process co-designer and senior Australian of the year, Prof Tom Calma, and the Australian of the year, body positivity activist Taryn Brumfitt.
The appearance of Peter V’landys, the chair of the Australian Rugby League Commission, was publicised ahead of time. The NRL is also hosting a double header in Las Vegas next year as its season opener, but the US government is also interested in the league’s influence in the Pacific, as it seeks to strengthen ties in the region.
The News Corp chair, Lachlan Murdoch, who attended the 2019 state dinner that former US president Donald Trump hosted for Scott Morrison, was a notable absence from the guest list, as were Australian Hollywood royalty Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie.
The event’s festivities, held on the South Lawn of the sprawling White House grounds, had been toned down in response to the Israel-Hamas war.
American new-wave legends the B-52s had been slated as musical guests, but on Tuesday the US first lady announced a change to the entertainment, with American military bands slotted in to provide instrumental music.
Jill Biden told reporters: “While we had initially planned for the legendary B-52s to perform their iconic dance and party music, we are now in a time when so many are facing sorrow and pain, and we have decided to make adjustments to the entertainment portion of the evening.”
The Love Shack and Rock Lobster performers attended the evening as guests.
Among the other guests to enjoy the “American cuisine” – butternut squash (pumpkin) soup, braised short ribs and chocolate mousse – were a mix of Australian business and economic elites, including the Australian Industry Group’s chief, Innes Wilcox, and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry head, Andrew McKellar. The Macquarie boss, Shemara Wikramanayake, and the Bluescope CEO, Mark Vassella, were also there.
Australian economist Justin Wolfers and his partner, Betsey Stevenson, a former US chief economist, were among the guests, which also included the Australian resources minister, Madeleine King, who was part of the delegation given the focus on critical minerals. (King’s first name was misspelt on the official list as Madeline).
One of the stars of the iconic Baz Lurhmann film Romeo and Juliet, actor John Leguizamo, was among the American entertainment contingent invited to the dinner, which also included DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman and producer Bruce Cohen.
The New York Times executive editor, Joe Kahn, NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell and the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg were among the official guests. A number of people in the prime minister’s staff were also seated for the dinner.
Joe Biden invited Albanese to the White House for an official state dinner to re-affirm the relationship between Australia and the US, after the president was forced to cancel a visit to Australia in May. The dinner followed a day of diplomacy, where the Middle East, China, the Pacific and the Aukus deal were all discussed.
Albanese’s visit was seen as crucial in calming down Republican “jitters” over elements of the Aukus deal, with Biden keen to remind Congress of the importance of the Australian-US alliance.
