A gala National Trust fund-raising dinner to be attended by Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones and rock star Bryan Adams this weekend has been postponed because of the September 11 attacks.

`A Jewelled Extravaganza', which is aiming to raise $500,000 for an endowment fund for the trust, has been rescheduled from Saturday night at the XL building to June 1.

Around half of the 320 guests due to attend the lavish dinner were planning to fly in from overseas, but organisers have decided to cancel the fund-raiser because many executives are cutting back on flying.

Tickets for the dinner cost between $500 and $1,000, and prizes were to be auctioned across the world on the Internet.

The prizes included memorabilia from David Bowie, a week in the Caribbean on tycoon John Deuss's yacht Fleurtje, and vacations in luxury hotels and villas in North America and Europe.

Madeleine Webster, who chairs the executive committee organising the event said: "It is very disappointing to have to postpone, but it is the right thing to do for all sorts of reasons."

"In light of the directive from the US State Department advising American citizens to avoid unnecessary overseas travel, and in view of the fact that a number of companies were cutting back on air travel for their senior executives, my committee decided to delay the event."

"In addition, we did consider that in these unsettled and difficult times, a gala event of this magnitude may not have been appropriate."