Sir Elton John, founder of EJAF, gave an impassioned speech to crowds in Sydney, Australia for World AIDS Day.

He emphasised the gains that have been made in fighting HIV and AIDS, “We’ve got this disease really by the scruff of the neck,” he said. Sir Elton warned that the world needed to be prepared to “fight a new war, to get the funding necessary to actually kill the disease once and for all … we can’t let go now,” he urged, “it’s imperative we seize this opportunity where the end is maybe in sight, to keep going”.

With the cutting of a red ribbon, Sir Elton unleashed fountains of fireworks which twinkled over the harbour while the iconic Sydney Opera House was illuminated in a sombre red hue to mark the day. An estimated 30,000,000 people have died from AIDS-related causes since the disease was first identified in the 1980′s and currently 34,000,000 people are living with HIV.

Watch video of the speech