Lionel Messi's gala wedding: Guests, venue, other key talking points

Rosario, June 29: It promises to be wedding bash of the decade when Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi marries his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo on Thursday (June 29).

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Football and showbiz stars will gather in northern Argentina to attend the gala wedding of one of worlds most popular footballer.

Messi and Roccuzzo will finally enter the wedlock in presence of some 250 local and international guests. Messi and Roccuzzo met as children. He moved to Spain when he was 13 to join FC Barcelona. But they kept in touch.

Here is all that you need to know about the wedding of the Latin American footballer's celebrity wedding:

Venue:

The wedding will be held at the City Center Rosario complex and the Pullman Hotel. The party will also be held the same casino, which is Messi's hometown Rosario.

Guests will have access to the on-site casino, a fully functioning bowling alley, tennis courts, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool along with a number of bars and restaurants.

From 2200 GMT the guests will pack into the Hotel City-Center Casino, which stands right next to a crime-ridden slum run by drug gangs.

Guests:

It is going to be a star-studded evening in Rosario as several old friends of the couple and footballers such as his Barcelona strike partners Luis Suarez and Neymar will attend the wedding.

Pop star Shakira and her husband, Messi's teammate, Gerard Pique are also on the guests' list.

Some 155 journalists have been accredited to cover the bash. In total, around 600 people will be present at the wedding.

Security will be handled by a private team of Israeli specialists used by Messi for all his excursions.

Performances:

Uruguayan pop bands Rombai and Marama plus singer Karina, wife of Argentina footballer Sergio Aguero, will perform at the dance.

Brides attire:

Bride Roccuzzo, 29, will wear a dress by Spanish designer Rosa Clara, which has been flown over from Barcelona. The designer has dressed stars such as actresses Eva Longoria and Sofia Vergara as well as Spain's Queen Letizia.

Wedding gifts:

The couple has appealed to the guests to give donations to the Leo Messi Foundation, a children's charity foundation, as wedding gift.

Special dishes planned for the wedding:

Messi has reportedly asked chefs to cook local delicacies such as "locro" stew and "empanada" pasties for the feast. The star dish is a typical Argentine beef roast including chitterlings, gizzards and kidneys.

The couple's kids will be present at the wedding:

The couple have two children: Thiago, 4 and one-year-old Mateo, both born in Barcelona.

OneIndia News

(With inputs from agencies)