Messi to marry his childhood sweetheart: Here’s everything you need to know

Football stars and other celebrities around the world will gather in northern Argentina on Friday for Lionel Messi’s marriage. The Barcelona superstar will be marrying his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo.

 

💏💞pic.twitter.com/zyfn7uxk1H

— ℓα ρυℓgα (@Marwan_elzahar) June 29, 2017

 

Pop star Shakira and her husband, Messi's teammate Gerard Pique, are expected among the 260 guests, according to media and locals close to the event.

They will join old friends of the couple and footballers such as Messi’s Barcelona strike partners Luis Suarez and Neymar.

 

Suarez is in town too. ⏳#WeAreMessi pic.twitter.com/fCa7nqYmvC

— Leo Messi 🔟 (@WeAreMessi) June 29, 2017

 

Brunette bride Roccuzzo, 29, will wear a dress designed by Spanish designer Rosa Clara. The designer has dressed stars such as actresses Eva Longoria and Sofia Vergara as well as Spain's Queen Letizia.

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.

"Messi's wedding accentuates the sense of inequality that is symbolised by the casino in that neighbourhood," said Carlos del Frade, author of several books on the drug trade in Rosario.

This city of 1.2 million people is also a cradle of footballing talent, however.

"Rosario lives and breathes football. That is another reason Lionel feels so comfortable here," the city's mayor, Monica Fein, told AFP.

 

City Center Rosario is ready for the biggest wedding of the year. #WeAerMessi pic.twitter.com/I7ivUC0owD

— Leo Messi 🔟 (@WeAreMessi) June 29, 2017

 

Local Delicacies:

Messi, 30 -- considered a man of few words -- 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.

 

Messi & Antonella's wedding food menu. pic.twitter.com/RnRH7X7m4G

— Leo Messi 🔟 (@WeAreMessi) June 24, 2017

 

Performance:

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

It is not sure whether the guests will also get a song from Shakira, the Colombian diva famous for "Whenever, Wherever."

Wedding gifts to be used as donations:

The gifts received at the wedding will qualify for donations to the Leo Messi Foundation - a children’s charity foundation.

Security:

Some 155 journalists have been accredited to cover the bash, but they will have no access to the guests.

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

 

You're Invited :) #WeAreMessi pic.twitter.com/YrWKovRtU8

— Leo Messi 🔟 (@WeAreMessi) June 29, 2017