Stars will be shining in Rosario

Soccer and showbiz celebrities will gather in northern Argentina on Friday for Latin America's 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 representatives, 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 Messi teammates such as 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

The guests will pack into the Hotel City-Center Casino, next to a crime-ridden slum run by drug gangs.

The civil wedding ceremony and reception will all take place inside the venue, and the guests will be lodged there too.

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 will be Argentine roast beef, including chitterlings, gizzards and kidneys.

Latin pop

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

AFP