David Beckham honoured for charity work

David Beckham was honoured for his work with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) during a star-studded gala in Los Angeles on Tuesday night (12Jan16).

The former soccer star, who is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations, accepted the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Leadership Award at the UNICEF event, which was held at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel in L.A.

The award was presented to David by his longtime friend Sir Elton John in honour of his work with his Seven Foundation charity.

He acknowledged the honour in a post on Instagram.com, sharing a picture of himself surrounded by children and adding, "Extremely honoured to receive the @UNICEFUSA's Humanitarian Leadership Award this evening at the #UNICEFBall. I can't wait to continue doing all I can for Unicef and my 7 Fund, 7.org, to help children across the world."

His wife Victoria was unable to attend the glitzy event, but she sent her congratulations to her husband via social media, signing the Instagram post from herself and the couple's four children.

"We r (are) so proud of @davidbeckham receiving the @UNICEFUSA humanitarian leadership award at the #UNICEFball X You are an Inspiration to so many people with the incredible work you do... we love u (sic) so much Victoria, Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper x..."

Other stars who attended the gala included Mariah Carey, Nicole Kidman, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Connelly and her husband Paul Bettany, Michelle Rodriguez, Miranda Kerr, and Heidi Klum.

Carey also performed at the event, thrilling guests with a rendition of hit tracks including Always Be My Baby and Hero.