Despite angry residents who claim the UNESCO city is no billionaire’s playground, celebrities on superyachts are sailing into Venice this week for the three-day wedding celebration of Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez.
About 200 people have reportedly been invited to the software tycoon and journalist’s multi-million dollar wedding in the Italian city, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday and conclude on Saturday with a ceremony at a secret location.
Due to speculation that the ceremony would be held at the Arsenale, a major shipyard complex that dates back to the city’s heyday as a naval powerhouse, or the historic Church of the Abbey of Misericordia, the security details are being kept under wraps.
Bezos, 61, and former news anchor and entertainment reporter Sanchez, 55, are said to have booked out the city’s finest hotels for a star-studded guest list rumoured to include Leonardo DiCaprio, Mick Jagger, Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey, Orlando Bloom and Ivanka Trump.
Additionally, it is anticipated that Bezos’ mega-yacht Koru would dock off the famous island of San Giorgio Maggiore, which is located just across from St. Mark’s Square and has apparently been fully reserved for the time.
The extravagant celebration has caused a lot of people in Venice to reflect, as some worry that the large number of A-list visitors and their entourages would worsen the situation in a city that is already struggling due to the influx of tourists.
Tens of thousands of visitors come during the day, many stepping off cruise ships for a quick Bellini cocktail, but the city gradually loses residents. During peak times, there are about 100,000 tourists staying overnight.
Protesters claim that Bezos, one of the richest men in the world and the founder of a corporation that is sometimes criticized for how it treats its employees, is different from the Hollywood actor George Clooney, whose star-studded wedding took place in Venice eleven years ago.
Greenpeace criticized billions spent on hedonistic partying while the vulnerable city is “sinking under the weight of the climate crisis” as activists questioned the guests’ carbon footprint.
While participating in a space voyage in April on a rocket created by Bezos’s space company Blue Origin, Sanchez has also come under fire for declaring that more needs to be done to combat climate change.
Activists unfurled a giant banner in St Mark’s on Monday, with a picture of Bezos laughing and a sign reading: “If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax”.
Built on islands in a lagoon, the city has imposed a controversial ticket policy for day-trippers but locals say more must be done to protect local businesses and tackle the housing crisis.
Tommaso Cacciari, 47, who heads the No Space for Bezos movement, said the protesters object to “the use of Venice as if it were a very private ballroom, rather than a real city with inhabitants, with frailties, with problems”.
He told AFP such events were “condemning Venice to a definitive death” by driving out remaining residents, but protesters were ready to kill the romance by throwing “our bodies, our boats and inflatable animals” into canals as guests pass.
According to Lanza & Baucina, the couple’s Sicilian wedding planner, they have been told to cause as little disruption to the city as possible.
Additionally, Simone Venturini, a city councillor for tourism in Venice, denied that it would interfere with day-to-day activities, telling AFP that it was simply “one of many events that the city hosts on a daily basis.” In addition, the number of participants is comparatively modest.
The pair, who are both divorced, are hiring traditional Venetian craftspeople and have donated to charities to help the city.
Rosa Salva, the oldest pastry maker in Venice, is preparing “fishermen’s biscuits” from the 19th century for party bags that are also anticipated to include items from Laguna B, which is well-known for its handblown Murano glass.
Those who are thrilled by Bezos’s choice to celebrate here have formed a counter-group called “Yes Venice Can,” while angry people who want to create a splash prepare their swimming costumes.
Michele Serafini, a 50-year-old local, stated, “It’s a fragile city, that’s clear, it’s not like you can do everything all the time, no matter what — but events like this don’t create any problems at all.”
According to him, the wedding “brings money to the city of Venice,” which is only a good thing.
AFP
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