Olivia Newton-John Honored at State Memorial Service in Australia by Family and Celebrity Friends

Olivia Newton-John Honored at State Memorial Service in Australia by Family and Celebrity Friends

Olivia Newton-John was honored with a state memorial service in Australia on Sunday, giving fans and the star's loved ones from around the world a chance to celebrate her legacy.


At the event, which was live streamed and is now available to watch until March 5, Newton-John's husband, John Easterling, and daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, paid tribute to the star with moving speeches.


Delta Goodrem — who collaborated with Newton-John and played her in the 2018 Australian biopic miniseries: Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You — spoke at the event as well.


Video tributes also poured in from various famous friends, including Elton John, Hugh Jackman, Dolly Parton, Pink, Barry Gibb and Mariah Carey.


The service, organized by the singer's family and announced earlier this month, was available for the public to attend at Hamer Hall in Arts Centre Melbourne after registration for an invitation began on Feb. 10.

Olivia Newton-John Honored at State Memorial Service in Australia by Family and Celebrity Friends

The event itself had been in the works since August, per CNN, when Daniel Andrews, Premier for the State of Victoria, tweeted about wanting to do something special to celebrate Newton-John's life — and her family agreed.


During his speech, Easterling, 70, described Newton-John as a "healer" and recounted a moment when he saw her perform live for the first time.


"You have to understand, I wasn't an Olivia fan, I didn't know any Olivia music, I'd never even seen Grease," he told those in attendance. "So this was a small little intimate theater in Miami, the lights went down, and I heard Peruvian flutes play, and she walked out on the stage and started singing 'Pearls on a Chain,' and there was this healing moving through the audience."


"People around me were crying, and I got it," he added. "It hit me like a laser beam in the chest, that Olivia was a healer. And this is one of her mediums of healing."

Olivia Newton-John Honored at State Memorial Service in Australia by Family and Celebrity Friends

Lattanzi, 37, meanwhile, remembered the loving nature that her mother had in a moving speech of her own.


"My mom could find the beauty in everything. My favorite thing to do was watch her watching the birds and the flowers, smelling her roses and the joy it brought to her face was a thing of beauty. I loved making her tea and then making it five times again until I got it right," she said.


"I loved our snuggles. I would crawl into bed with her late at night, even until I was 20 years old. I loved the way she smelled, nothing felt safer to me. I loved writing music and singing with her and how she would always notice if I was slightly off-key," Lattanzi added with a laugh. "I love how she loved fully and completely."


Newton-John died in August at age 73 after a 30-year experience with breast cancer, Easterling announced on her social media channels at the time.

Olivia Newton-John Honored at State Memorial Service in Australia by Family and Celebrity Friends

"Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer," he wrote. "Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made in her memory to the @onjfoundation."


The next month, Newton-John was celebrated by friends and family at a memorial service in Southern California, which was attended by John Travolta, Marie Osmond, Leeza Gibbons and Sir Cliff, her rep confirmed.


Other friends also made the trip from Australia for the service.

Olivia Newton-John Honored at State Memorial Service in Australia by Family and Celebrity Friends