Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are set to to tie the knot in the ‘wedding of the century’ in Venice, Italy, in just two days’ time – but to say the romantic city’s locals are less than thrilled about the three-day celebration is an understatement.
Protest banners, posters and graffiti have appeared in recent days, most emblazoned with the message ‘No space for Bezos’, and activists are planning a series of disruptions to challenge the island-wide celebrations.
The Amazon founder, 61, and his fiancée, 55, are expected to throw one of the most lavish sets of nuptials of the year, costing an estimated $15 million to $20 million, with a star-studded guest list featuring some of the world’s most famous faces.
According to Italian media reports, hundreds of stars will visit the city for the events, which will take place from June 23rd to 25th, with nearly every luxury hotel now fully booked.
But demonstrators in the Lagoon City are against the spectacle of wealth that is about to take place and say the wedding is an example of over-tourism, a problem Venice already struggles with.
Last week, a group of activists unfurled a huge banner over one of the city’s most famous landmarks, the Rialto bridge, with its central message ‘No Space for Bezos’, a nod to the billionaire’s space exploration venture, Blue Origin.
They also hung a huge banner with Jeff’s surname crossed out in red on the bell tower of San Giorgio Basilica.
Protestor Federica Toninelli told the BBC that Venice is ‘being treated like a showcase, a stage’, adding that Jeff and Lauren’s wedding is ‘the symbol of the exploitation of the city by outsiders’.
In a social media post urging other locals to join the protests, the activists also accused the city’s Mayor Luigi Brugnaro of treating residents as ‘a nuisance’ because ‘for him the only valid use of Venice is as a backdrop for events that make the rich richer’.
But Brugnaro has hit back, telling reporters he is ‘ashamed’ of the protests and adding: ‘What other city would organise a committee against the wedding of such an important person?
‘I hope [Jeff] doesn’t have second thoughts.’
Another protestor, Marta Sottoriva, told The Independent that the city’s willingness to host the extravagant event has given the impression that ‘a city can be sold to the highest bidder with the most money’.
On Sunday June 22nd, more messages popped up around the city bearing the protest message, even as businesses prepare for the huge influx of tourists.
One poster features a black-and-white image of Jeff with red tape over his eyes and an upside Amazon logo placed over his mouth like a frown.
The activists are also planning to cause a stir during the festivities and hope to drum up attention for their cause by blocking roads and the city’s iconic waterways with boats and paddleboards, as well as jumping into the canals.
Among the sea of high-profile guests expected to attend the wedding, close Hollywood A-lister friends of the couple such as Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Orlando Bloom, Eva Longoria, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, and Miranda Kerr may make an appearance.
TMZ reports suggest members of the Trump family may also be in attendance, including Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
It is not known if US President Donald Trump and Melania Trump will be there, but seeing as Jeff and Lauren were given front-row seats at the president’s inauguration, his attendance is a possibility.
A source in Italy revealed to MailOnline that the couple will officially tie the knot on June 27, and will say ‘I do’ on the island of San Giorgio, which is home to the famous Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, a 16th century Benedictine church.
Bezos’ $500 million superyacht, Koru, will be docked on the island’s harbour. The island, which is owned by the Cini Foundation, will not be open to the public.
Mass tourism in Venice has been a top issue among residents for some years now. In 2023, officials said they would introduce an entry fee for tourists coming into the city to curb overcrowding and limited the size of tourists to 25 in a bid to control the flow of people.
But the measures have done little to deter the majority of tourists, who still flock to Venice in huge numbers.
Earlier this year, a video shared on social media showed thousands of visitors congesting the narrow Venetian streets near the Grand Canal as they tried to make their way along the water to catch a glimpse of the iconic Carnival parade.
Locals have been grappling with over tourism and the impact it has had on their living conditions, and have taken to the streets in recent years to demonstrate against the number of visitors arriving to the Floating City.
There are approximately 250,000 people living in the region although only approximately 60,000 live in the Renaissance city itself.
Jeff and Lauren’s lavish wedding is far from the only large-scale celebration involving celebrities to take place in Venice.
In 2014, George and Amal Clooney tied the knot in a star-studded ceremony, which brought hundreds of people to the city hoping to get a glimpse of the glamorous couple and their famous friends and family.
