 "'No space for Bezos': Why Amazon founder's lavish wedding has Venice divided")
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is gearing up to marry American author and journalist Lauren Sanchez in an extravagant ceremony in the iconic Italian city of Venice.
Although the exact date for their big day hasn’t been confirmed, it is expected to take place in late June. And by the sound of it, this isn’t going to be a quiet, low-key affair. Big names from Hollywood, business, and even politics are expected to attend.
Bezos, who is currently the world’s third richest man with a net worth of $220.9 billion, is reportedly planning to take over the entire island of San Giorgio for the celebration. There’s even talk of parts of Venice being shut down to make way for the lavish event.
That, unsurprisingly, hasn’t gone down too well with locals, with many now protesting against the multi-million dollar wedding.
Here’s what is happening.
What we know about Bezos’ ‘wedding of the century’
Hundreds of high-profile guests are expected to arrive in Venice between 23 and 28 June for the much-anticipated wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez. The celebrations are reportedly set to take over the entire island of San Giorgio, which sits right across from the iconic St Mark’s Square.
The ceremony is expected to be intimate yet grand, hosting under 250 guests, including an A-list guest list that includes their celebrity friends Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger, and Katy Perry. Ivanka Trump is also expected to be an attendee.
The couple’s $500 million superyacht, Koru, is expected to play a role in the celebrations, given that it was aboard this very yacht that the 61-year-old billionaire proposed to Sanchez in May 2023 with a stunning pink diamond ring worth at least $2.5 million.
To ensure smooth travel across Venice’s canals, an entire fleet of traditional water taxis will be on standby to ferry guests between venues throughout the celebrations.
When it comes to accommodation, the couple has pulled out all the stops. According to La Repubblica, they’ve secured some of Venice’s most luxurious hotels — including The Gritti Palace (a favourite of Ernest Hemingway), Hotel Danieli, Aman Venice (where George Clooney had his wedding), Belmond Hotel Cipriani, and the glamorous St. Regis Venice.
Rooms at these properties start at $3,200 a night, and for those opting for peak luxury, the price can be up to ten times higher.
Why are people protesting against the wedding?
While Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s wedding promises to be a lavish celebration, it’s also sparked a wave of anger among some Venetians.
Local activists, operating under the banner “No Space for Bezos,” see the upcoming nuptials as a glaring example of Venice’s overtourism crisis.
The city, home to just around 50,000 residents, welcomes nearly 20 million tourists each year. Activists argue that grand events like this only make things worse, driving up rent, straining resources, and making daily life more difficult for locals.
Banners reading “No Space for Bezos” have been hung across landmarks to protest Blue Origin founder’s wedding. Federica Toninello, a 33-year-old Venetian activist, claimed one of the potential wedding venues could be the historic Misericordia hall.
“Bezos will never get to the Misericordia,” she declared, rallying a crowd of about 300 people. “We will line the streets with our bodies, block the canals with lifesavers, dinghies and our boats.”
According to CNN, the city has already introduced a €10 day-tripper fee during weekends and peak tourist times. But campaigners say that’s not enough, pointing to a continued decline in basic services like schools, hospitals, and affordable housing.
“Venice is being treated like a showcase, a stage,” Toninello told the BBC. “And this wedding is the symbol of the exploitation of the city by outsiders… Venice is now just an asset.”
Protester Na Haby Stella Faye said they plan to block canals, streets to disrupt the grand wedding. “Let’s make sure that Venice is not remembered as a postcard venue where Bezos had his wedding but as the city that did not bend to oligarchs. We can’t miss a chance to disrupt a $10-million wedding,” she told The New York Times.
‘I am ashamed’
However, not everyone is on board with the protests. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said he was “ashamed” of the protesters and not everyone in the Italian city is like them.
“We are very proud,’’ Brugnaro told AP. “I don’t know if I will have time [to meet Bezos and Sánchez], or if he will, to meet and shake hands, but it’s an honour that they chose Venice. Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage.’’
Echoing the mayor’s indignation, jeweller Setrak Tokatzian, who heads the association of St Mark’s shopkeepers, told Italian media that those who protest “hurt the city”.
“This kind of event brings in work and wealth, otherwise all we have left is increasingly low-cost tourism.”
Görge Meyer, who was visiting from Berlin, told CNN, “It seems ridiculous that a city that lives off tourism like Venice wouldn’t want an event like this, which will employ hundreds of people from waiters to water taxi drivers. All the guests and journalists will be staying at hotels, eating at restaurants and spending money. And they want to stop the cash influx?”
With input from agencies
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