More than 1,000 of Manila's elite turned up to attend her party - too many to let in to the official party.

Imelda resplendent in pink taffeta

Escorted by her Hollywood actor friend George Hamilton and wearing her trademark pink gown with butterfly sleeves, Mrs Marcos waved and blew kisses to the cheering crowds from the Manila Hotel balcony.

"I cannot embrace or shake hands with all of you, but you know that you are all here in my heart," she said.

The crowd chanted "We love you, Madam" and "Marcos for always", a slogan the widow's late husband Ferdinand Marcos used in his first presidential campaign.

Grand celebration

Despite pronouncements of poverty since the government confiscated much of the Marcos wealth, alleged to have been acquired through corruption, the birthday party had all the trimmings of affluence.

It was Imelda Marcos' grandest celebration since Ferdinand Marcos was ousted in 1986 after 20 years as the dictatorial head of the nation.

The couple fled to exile in Hawaii where he died three years later.