When billionaire Jeff Bezos marries his second wife in a lavish ceremony at Venice this week, he won’t be able to bring his $500 billion, 400-foot yacht Koru into the historic canals. Even its shadow yacht, Abeona, at 245 feet, is too big, so they’ll both be moored in the city’s lagoon.
But that doesn’t mean Mr. Bezos and some 200 expected guests will get to move about in the canals — or the city — freely once they’ve anchored their yachts. Protesters are planning on jumping into canals to block water taxis and gondolas, as well as forming human barriers in the city’s narrow streets, to hinder guests’ movement.
Mr. Bezos, 61, founder of Amazon and one of the wealthiest people in the world, has become the unwitting center of protests as he prepares to wed TV anchor Lauren Sánchez, 55, in Venice. The frustrations from locals reached a new peak on Monday when activists in St. Mark’s Square displayed a large banner reading, “If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax.”
Over the weekend, activists unfurled other banners against Mr. Bezos, 61, from the bell tower of the San Giorgio Maggiore basilica and the Rialto Bridge. “This wedding is the symbol of the exploitation of the city by outsiders. Venice is now just an asset,” said Federica Toninelli, an activist affiliated with the “No Space for Bezos” protest group.
The protest group includes various activist collectives concerned with the city’s rising housing costs, the dominance of tourism, and environmental damage caused by cruise ship traffic. “These topics are all linked,” Ms. Toninelli told the BBC. “They all have to do with Venice turning into a place that puts tourists, rather than residents, at the center of its politics.”
Venice is a two-square-mile island where some 50,000 people live, but each year receives more than 20 million visitors, many by cruise ship. Frustrated residents say the town simply can’t take that many annual visitors.
While the local government has implemented measures to alleviate overcrowding, such as entry fees during weekends and holidays, critics argue such measures fall short as tourism-driven economic models continue to displace residents.
Meanwhile, the couple’s wedding organizers, Lanza & Baucina Limited, who planned the Clooney nuptials in 2014, said Mr. Bezos and his fiancee have been striving to be good guests.
“From the outset, instructions from our client and our own guiding principles were abundantly clear: the minimizing of any disruption to the city, the respect for its residents and institutions and the overwhelming employment of locals in the crafting of the events,” the company said in a statement.
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro dismissed criticism of the event, saying, “It’s an honor that they chose Venice. Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage.”
The wedding festivities, scheduled from June 23 to June 28 — with the ceremony reportedly set for Friday — are expected to flood the tiny city and completely take over an island across from prime tourist destination St. Mark’s Square. Reports indicate that nearly every luxury hotel, along with as many as 60 gondolas, have been commandeered for the event.
Guests are rumored to include celebrities like actors Leo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Orlando Bloom and Eva Longoria, musicians Mick Jagger, Elton John, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, designer Diane von Furstenberg and numerous international supermodels, and fellow billionaire Bill Gates. And, of course, Oprah will be there.
President Trump will also be in Europe this week, attending a NATO summit in the Netherlands beginning Tuesday. “Of course, Donald Trump could also come to this wedding,” Veneto regional president Luca Zaia told Corriere della Sera. Ivanka Trump has also reportedly been invited.
Guests will reportedly be sworn to silence by signing non-disclosure agreements.
Some reports suggest the ceremony will occur at the historic 16th-century Church of the Abbey of Misericordia, while others point to a religious retreat on the small island of San Giorgio Maggiore. The monastery, Fondazione Cini, was a former home to monks who renounced worldly goods and lived an austere life.
Several weeks ago, when the ceremony was said to be set for the 16th-century abbey, Ms. Toninelli told Tempo, “Bezos will never get to the Misericordia. We will line the streets with our bodies, block the canals with lifesavers, dinghies and our boats. For us, this is not just about one wedding, it’s about reclaiming Venice for its residents and standing against events that exacerbate the struggles of regular Venetians.”
On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the ceremony has been moved to an isolated, less accessible part of the lagoon city on security concerns and to prevent the risk of protests. The billionaire tech-tycoon and his fiancee had earmarked a location in Cannaregio — a popular and central nightlife area — to celebrate after their marriage, but fears of demonstrations led to a change of plan.
This won’t be the first time Venice has served as the location for a high-profile wedding. Mr. Clooney, who has maintained a home at nearby Lake Como for years, and Amal Alamuddin’s glamorous nuptials in 2014 similarly drew global attention, but faced far less controversy. Unlike this current backlash, their wedding was largely seen as a celebration of the city.
Venice is not alone in its struggle with overtourism. Recent coordinated anti-tourism protests across other parts of Europe reflect growing discontent among local communities.
Earlier this month in the streets of Barcelona, demonstrators armed with water guns sprayed unsuspecting tourists to highlight how mass tourism is harming the city. Protesters in other cities in Spain, including Mallorca, Lisbon, and Granada, also rallied with messages about housing crises and the erosion of local cultural identity.
Some 5,000 people gathered in the capital of Mallorca, Palma, wielding water guns and chanting, “Everywhere you look, all you see are tourists.”
Meanwhile in Paris, the Louvre was forced to close its doors as staff staged a strike to protest worsening working conditions and the strain of mass tourism. Known for housing priceless masterpieces like Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, the museum’s sudden closure left thousands of visitors stranded and confused.
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