Messi's star-studded Argentine wedding - what we know
Aerial view of the venue in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina on June 23, 2017, where Barcelona's football star Lionel Messi of Argentina and Antonella Roccuzzo will get married on June 30. PHOTO | STR | AFP
What you need to know:
- Pop star Shakira and her husband, Messi's teammate Gerard Pique are expected among the 260 guests.
- They will join old friends of the couple and footballers such as his Barcelona strike partners Luis Suarez and Neymar.
- Messi, 30, 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.
ROSARIO
Football and showbiz stars gather in northern Argentina on Friday for Latin America's celebrity wedding bash of the decade when Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi marries his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo.
Here is what we know from the few details given by Messi's spokespeople as well as media reports and local people close to the event in his home city of Rosario.
SHAKIRA AND FRIENDS
Pop star Shakira and her husband, Messi's teammate Gerard Pique are expected among the 260 guests.
They will join old friends of the couple and footballers such as his Barcelona strike partners Luis Suarez and Neymar.
THE DRESS
Brunette 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.
CASINO HOTEL
From 2200 GMT the guests will pack into the Hotel City-Centre Casino, next to a crime-ridden slum run by drug gangs.
The civil wedding ceremony and party will all take place inside the venue, and the guests will be lodged there too.
Men clean windshields for spare change on the Orono Boulevard in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina on June 23, 2017, in front of the venue where Barcelona's football star Lionel Messi of Argentina and Antonella Roccuzzo will get married on June 30, in their hometown. PHOTO | MARCELO MANERA | AFP
View of a slum in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina on June 23, 2017, located behind the venue where Barcelona's football star Lionel Messi of Argentina and Antonella Roccuzzo will get married on June 30, in their hometown. The Rosario City Centre is located at the southern edge of the city, surrounded by the La Granada slum, which is controlled by the Los Monos drug gang and the Newell's Old Boys football club hooligans. PHOTO | MARCELO MANERA | AFP
A man rides past a mural in a slum in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina on June 23, 2017, located behind the venue where Barcelona's football star Lionel Messi of Argentina and Antonella Roccuzzo will get married on June 30, in their hometown. The Rosario City Centre is located at the southern edge of the city, surrounded by the La Granada slum, which is controlled by the Los Monos drug gang and the Newell's Old Boys football club hooligans. / PHOTO | MARCELO MANERA | AFP
ROASTED GIZZARDS
Messi, 30, 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.
Aerial view taken on June 23, 2017 of the La Granada slum which is next to the venue where Barcelona's football star Lionel Messi of Argentina and Antonella Roccuzzo will get married on June 30 in their hometown Rosario, in Santa Fe Province, Argentina. PHOTO | STR | AFP
LATIN POP
Uruguayan pop bands Rombai and Marama plus singer Karina, wife of Argentina footballer Sergio Aguero, will perform at the dance.
It is not known whether the guests will also get a song from Shakira, the Colombian diva famous for "Whenever, Wherever."
SECURITY MEDIA
Security will be handled by a private team of Israeli specialists used by Messi for all his excursions.
Some 155 journalists have been accredited to cover the bash, but have been warned they will have no access to the guests.
A Federal police checkpoint is seen at the Circunvalacion Avenue in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina on June 23 near the place where Barcelona's football star Lionel Messi of Argentina and Antonella Roccuzzo will celebrate their wedding in their city of birth Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina on June 30. PHOTO | MARCELO MANERA |
