LONDON, March 16: England captain David Beckham and his pop star wife Victoria are to throw a 250,000-pound (356,000 dollar) Oriental-style party before the team fly to the World Cup in Japan, it was reported here Saturday.

The party will take place in the Japanese Garden of the couple’s mansion on May 12 just five days before England skipper Beckham lead’s squad into their World Cup bid in the Far East, The Sun reported.

Invitations alone cost 10,000 pounds (14,235 dollars) and will be tied with a traditional oriental grass ribbon.

“We hope the England team have a good tournament. We hope you develop your mind for the battle and win you games.”

The dress code is “white tie and diamonds”, with Geisha girls on hand to welcome guests, the tabloid Sun reported.

Friends from the music world of Victoria Beckham, also known as Posh Spice, are expected to be invited including Elton John, Ronan Keating and the other three spice girls.

England coach Sven Goran Eriksson is expected among the 400 guests along with Beckham’s England team-mates David Seaman, Sol Campbell and Michael Owen.

The team will spend a fortnight acclimatising on an island off South Korea before their opening match against Sweden on June 2.—AFP