Possible Clues:

• 'Went to, was present at (8)'
• All there when a teetotaller was no longer there
• Was there when the teetotaller died
• Was present when one died without a drink
• Was present at start of Aida before two tenors finished
• Escort and writer went to the event
• One got there just as a race finished
• Was all there when the teetotaller died
• That was for a present, it seems
• One was there when, though he did not drink, he died