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Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nC<\/span>ome Tuesday, Venetians will have a new spectacle on the horizon. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is sailing into the city on his $500 million superyacht to marry his fianc\u00e9e, former journalist Lauren Sanchez, in what is expected to be a spectacular display of wealth and pomp. Over three days <\/strong>(from June 24 to 26), Bezos and Sanchez\u2019s guest list of Hollywood A-listers are set to invade the historic city, filling its waterways and luxury hotels. In a city that constantly strains against the swell of overtourism, it could prove the straw that breaks the camel\u2019s back, locals tell The Independent<\/em>.<\/p>\nLast week, demonstrators took to the Rialto bridge \u2014 one of Venice\u2019s most famous landmarks \u2014 where they hung a giant banner reading \u201cNo Space for Bezos,\u201d a nod to the billionaire\u2019s space exploration company, Blue Origin. One of the protesters, Marta Sottoriva, said the wedding is yet another example of \u201cthe massive problem of overtourism\u201d in the northern Italian city. She told The Independent <\/em>that allowing the billionaire to have his wedding in Venice creates the idea that \u201ca city can be sold to the highest bidder with the most money.\u201d<\/p>\nThis sentiment resonates deeply with locals, who often feel overshadowed by the influx of wealthy visitors. These temporary guests don\u2019t contend with Venice\u2019s long-term challenges, like access to healthcare or education. \u201cA lot of local people feel that there\u2019s actually a mission to push them away to create more space for economic profit,\u201d Sottoriva said.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Venice\u2019s newest power couple: Bezos and Sanchez turn the floating city into their wedding stage (AFP\/Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nOf course, it\u2019s hard to compete with the kind of cash flow that Bezos \u2014 who is worth around $230 billion \u2014 can provide. The wedding is estimated to cost anywhere from $11.5 million to upwards of $21.5 million, much of which will be injected into the city. About 30 of Venice\u2019s 280 water taxis have been reserved for the weekend, city hall officials said in a statement. Meanwhile, the five major luxury hotels along the Grand Canal, comprising the Belmond Hotel Cipriani, the St. Regis Venice, the Gritti Palace, the Hotel Danieli and the Grand Aman Hotel \u2014 where George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin celebrated their wedding in 2014 \u2014 are all almost entirely booked for the last weekend of June.<\/p>\n
No locations for receptions or afterparties have been confirmed, but one report claims the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a majestic 14th-century Venetian landmark, was also reserved for the occasion. The couple has also booked local suppliers such as Rosa Salva, the city\u2019s oldest pastry maker, and Laguna B, a design studio known for its distinctive handblown Murano glass. Salva told the Associated Press that it\u2019s \u201cprestigious\u201d for Venice to be selected for the wedding, and that it should bring \u201cquality tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>About 30 of Venice\u2019s 280 water taxis have been reserved for the three-day wedding (AFP\/Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe city\u2019s mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, addressed the wedding back in March, denying claims that he booked a large number of hotel rooms, gondolas, and water taxis for the event. \u201cWe are mutually working and supporting the organizers to ensure that the event will be absolutely respectful of the fragility and uniqueness of the city,\u201d he said in a statement to People<\/em> magazine at the time. \u201cThe many speculations and fake news circulating about Jeff Bezos\u2019 wedding are completely unfounded,\u201d the municipality added in its own statement, saying its \u201cutmost priority to make sure the city functions as normal, for all, with no abnormal disruption to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\nHowever, Sottoriva believes it is a \u201clie that this wedding is going to bring wealth and visibility to the city.\u201d <\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>The wedding ceremony itself is reportedly taking place on Bezos\u2019s $500 million superyacht, Koru (Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t need visibility,\u201d she added. \u201cTwenty, 30 million tourists per year is too much, and also, we must avoid getting caught up in the financial aspect because we know events like these only benefit a small group of people \u2014 luxury hotel owners, taxi drivers, and catering services. The jobs created are often precarious, without contracts, and people are not paid a lot more than usual. So there\u2019s nothing benefiting the local economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sottoriva also pointed to broader frustrations with Bezos as a figure, highlighting his extreme wealth and the struggles of Amazon workers. \u201cWe would have contested him even if he wasn\u2019t coming for a wedding,\u201d she said. However, not all Venetians share her perspective. Matteo Secchi, the president of Venessia.com, a residents\u2019 activist group, told The Independent <\/em>he doesn\u2019t think overtourism can be connected to Bezos\u2019s wedding. \u201cThere\u2019s only 200 people coming from the wedding, and then the locations of the weddings are outside the normal tourist routes,\u201d he said. \u201cI will be so angry if they stop the Grand Canal from running, for example. If I have to go to my job, don\u2019t block the street because Jeff Bezos is coming.\u201d<\/p>\nSecchi wasn\u2019t convinced the wedding deserved the level of criticism it was receiving, especially given its relatively small scale compared to the \u201cbillions of people\u201d who contribute to overtourism globally. Tourism is an important part of the economy of a city, but at the same time, overtourism is a double-edged sword,\u201d he said. \u201cVenice is small, and so sometimes we have trouble with the visitors because there\u2019s no space. Tourists are enjoying their vacation, but we are living. We have to go to school and work, to the bank and the supermarket, and we find the streets lined with people.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the wedding quickly approaches, Sottoriva said No Space for Bezos is still finalizing plans for their three-day protest. \u201cWe are going to have a big, colorful, non-violent demonstration,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re speaking out against a system that allows ultra-rich men to buy a city for three days.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Come Tuesday, Venetians will have a new spectacle on the horizon. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is sailing into the city on his $500 million superyacht to marry his fianc\u00e9e, former journalist Lauren Sanchez, in what is expected to be a spectacular display of wealth and pomp. Over three days (from June 24 to 26), Bezos and Sanchez\u2019s guest list of Hollywood A-listers are set to invade the historic city, filling its waterways and luxury hotels. In a city that constantly strains against the swell of overtourism, it could prove the straw that breaks the camel\u2019s back, locals tell The Independent. Last week, demonstrators took to the Rialto bridge \u2014 one of Venice\u2019s most famous landmarks \u2014 where they hung a giant banner reading \u201cNo Space for Bezos,\u201d a nod to the billionaire\u2019s space exploration company, Blue Origin. One of the protesters, Marta Sottoriva, said the wedding is yet another example of \u201cthe massive problem of overtourism\u201d in the northern Italian city. She told The Independent that allowing the billionaire to have his wedd…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2466"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}