Tom Cruise goes black tie for Scientology at ‘Patrons Ball’ in England

What a weekend Scientology had!

The return of the International Association of Scientologists gala to Scientology’s UK headquarters — Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead, England — after a four year absence was more than even we had dared to dream. It had everything, from the triumphant return of Scientology’s leader, David Miscavige, to the dramatic entrance his buddy Tom Cruise made in a helicopter.

And of course, our hats were off Friday night as we talked with Alex Barnes-Ross about his march and protest that day, and we’ll have more from him about the ensuing days later. But we thought this morning we would just focus on Scientology’s big showing, and to get your thoughts about what photos from the event are suggesting.

Friday night, the opening night of the three-day party, is Dave’s big show, when he regales the crowd with an hours-long speech about the state of Scientology, and recognizes a few Scientologists with Freedom Medals.

Dharma and Greg actress Jenna Elfman and her husband Bodhi showed off their outfits that night, and we were interested to see that she was not only going to emcee the Sunday night charity concert but attend all three nights of the event. What a trooper!

As for the venue itself, on Friday night they bring in the biggest crowd they possibly can, and every year it’s been fun trying to assess how many people they actually put in the big tent on the Saint Hill grounds.

One attendee helpfully used her smartphone to film her journey to her chair early on Friday night when the place was not yet very full. And we were surprised to see from her footage that the place seemed less cavernous than we had expected.

Another shot taken by someone else gives the view toward the back of the tent. We have always scoffed at the attendance figures that Scientology puts out, as many as 7,000 some years.

This year they told police they were expecting 6,000. But looking at the size of this place, we’re thinking it holds more like 2,500, right?

The only image we’ve seen so far of Dave on stage giving his big speech Friday was pretty blurry. Let us know if you’ve spotted a better one.

On Saturday, the rows of chairs were cleared out and tables were put in for the fancy Patrons Ball dinner as guests dressed up in black tie.

Jenna and Bodhi were prepared.

And it looks like guests enjoyed some interesting delicacies.

But of course the main dish was really Tom Cruise himself, who showed up in dozens of photos that we’ve seen, happy to pose with his fellow Scientologists at the ball.

The point of Saturday night’s banquet is to pay tribute to Scientology’s big donors, who are given new bowling trophies for the big amounts they’ve given the IAS in the last year. And so Tom is really a dessert treat for them, an incentive to give giving more and more of their cash. And what an incentive!

It was interesting to see that one of the attendees mugging with Tom was French attorney Philippe Blanchetier, who was indicted in 2015 along with a dozen others with former President Nicolas Sarkozy in a campaign finances corruption scandal, and these days is known for representing Russian oligarchs in trouble. Did anyone know he was a Scientologist?

We also noticed that the Florida electricity duo, Tom Cummins and Jim Bridgeforth, who together are the biggest Scientology donors behind Bob and Trish Duggan, were in attendance, and Tom did not disappoint with his sartorial splendor. As Mike Rinder pointed out, however, he was there with his daughter and not with his wife Victoria, who always puts on such a fashionable show. We hope she’s fine.

Mike also spotted one of our favorite church members, the Scientology oversharer! She was there with her man, and don’t they look great.

All in all, Saturday night’s banquet looked like a blast, and we’re looking forward to seeing some trophies in the next issue of Impact magazine.

On Sunday night, it was time for the charity concert.

We’re glad to see that our old friend Chill EB is looking rather prosperous these days.

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