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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>\nT<\/span>he so-called wedding of the century will be one to remember, but not for the reason Jeff Bezos hopes. <\/p>\nLocals in Venice have promised to swarm the streets and canals as the billionaire business tycoon ties the knot with the former TV reporter Lauren Sanchez. Residents say the 61-year-old Amazon CEO will not receive a warm reception in the city. <\/p>\n
Instead, Bezos, his super-rich friends, and his $500m superyacht reportedly set to sail into Venetian waters, will be told to go away.<\/p>\n
The wedding is set to be a lavish affair with high-profile guests on their way to the city, including scores of film, fashion and business stars who have been graced with an exclusive invite to witness the world\u2019s third-richest man marry for the second time. Paparazzi will replace palazzi as Venice\u2019s striking feature for three days, as the city hosts what could be its largest ever celebrity wedding \u2013 with Oprah Winfrey and Ivanka Trump among the rumoured invitees.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos in Santa Monica, California, April 2025 (Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThis, however, is assuming the guests are able to surpass a blockade on the canals led by furious Venetians, who feel authorities are prioritising the needs of rich tourists over desperately needed funding for local services. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo space for Bezos!” declare the banners emblazoned across the city by the protest group of the same name. It has invited people to attend the protest with musical instruments and inflatables as they look to disrupt the billionaire\u2019s nuptials. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not be begging for the crumbs that fall from the table of the richest people on Earth,\u201d the group says on Facebook. \u201cWe will be in the calli and alleys, in the canals, on the bridges, we will become their nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n
Environmental campaigners on Monday unveiled a huge banner in the famed St Mark’s Square. \u201cIf you can rent Venice for your wedding you can pay more tax,\u201d it reads. <\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>A message to the Amazon founder from Greenpeace (Reuters)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe details of the wedding have remained under wraps, but its guests are set to descend on the famous city later this week, for a celebration reportedly set to take over the entire island of San Giorgio. <\/p>\n
Six years has passed since Bezos\u2019s divorce from wife of 25 years MacKenzie Scott. The split came after US magazine The National Enquirer<\/em> published a report claiming Bezos had had an affair with Sanchez for months.<\/p>\nA global scandal erupted when Bezos accused National Enquirer<\/em> owner David Pecker of attempting to blackmail him over photographs which he allegedly sent to Sanchez depicting Bezos\u2019s \u201csemi-erect manhood\u201d. Bezos suggested the leak could have been the work of the Saudi Arabian government. <\/p>\n\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez visit the Taj Mahal in Agra in 2020 (AFP\/Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe past year has also seen Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post<\/em>, shift his political alliances. In February, he announced he was putting a stop to opinion writers voicing opposition to \u201cpersonal liberties and free markets\u201d, triggering fury among readers and journalists at the paper. Hours after the sweeping changes, he dined with President Donald Trump. <\/p>\nAlthough Trump repeatedly criticised the Post<\/em> \u2013 and Bezos personally \u2013 during his first term, during his second run, the paper opted not to endorse a 2024 candidate in a move that was interpreted as a peace offering to the Republican president from the Amazon CEO. <\/p>\nBezos and Sanchez, 55, got engaged in May 2023. In the years since, he stepped down as Amazon CEO in order to dedicate more time to Blue Origin, his space tourism company. <\/p>\n
Sanchez, a licensed pilot, was part of the first all-female crew to fly into space on the Blue Origin New Shepard rocket. Celebrated by many, critics questioned the purpose of the trip, calling it a vanity project. The inclusion of celebrity passengers, such as Katy Perry, sparked anger. <\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Pprotesters hang a banner on the Rialto Bridge (Reuters)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nJust under one year after their engagement \u2013 when Bezos left a ring under her pillow after a romantic dinner on his megayacht \u2013 Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro confirmed in March that his city would play host.<\/p>\n
Protesters say that their opposition to the upcoming celebration \u2013 which has so far seen huge banners emblazoned with blue graffiti-style writing unfurled on spots such as the four-century-old Rialto Bridge \u2013 is not a protest against the marriage itself.<\/p>\n
Instead, they claim their anger is driven by their opposition to overcrowding. Venice is one of the busiest tourist hotspots in the world, with an estimated 30 million tourists flocking to its waterways each year. Such a huge surge in people can easily overwhelm a city with just 51,000 residents. <\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Bezos’s yacht \u2018Koru\u2019 is reportedly set to play a role in the wedding (Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n“Bezos believes he can take over the city and turn it into his own private party venue,” said Tommaso Cacciari, a leading figure in the No Space for Bezos campaign. As residents leave the city due to rising living costs and low wages, the local authority has turned a blind eye to the dire state of public housing and focused on maximising tourist income, the group says. <\/p>\n
A piecemeal approach at curbing the overcrowding numbers has seen the city introduce entrance fees for tourists and limit permitted group sizes while outlawing the use of loudspeakers. Authorities say it has been a success, but locals and critics aren\u2019t convinced. <\/p>\n
Venice is divided. In a strong rebuke to the protesters, Brugnaro said he was \u201cashamed\u201d of his citizens protesting against Bezos. “What other city would organise a committee against the wedding of such an important person?\u201d he asked, according to the BBC.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos at the inauguration of Donald Trump (AFP\/Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nAlong with regional governor Luca Zaia, Brugnaro has argued that the wedding will bring economic windfall to local businesses, not least for the motorboats and gondolas in the canals. <\/p>\n
But Greenpeace Italy campaigner Simona Abbate said Venice would this week become a \u201csymbol of social inequality\u201d adding: \u201cYachts and private jets are climate bombs for the few.\u201d<\/p>\n
The grievances of many locals go beyond simply protecting the floating city. <\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>A local protest against the wedding (AFP\/Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\u201cOur city does not need yet another luxury event for a bunch of oligarchs,\u201d it said in a callout for support on social media. <\/p>\n
Protesters are invited to bring their swimwear, a snorkel, inflatables and musical instruments. If they succeed in disrupting the so-called \u201cwedding of the century\u201d, the nuptials could turn into an expensive calamity.<\/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 The so-called wedding of the century will be one to remember, but not for the reason Jeff Bezos hopes. Locals in Venice have promised to swarm the streets and canals as the billionaire business tycoon ties the knot with the former TV reporter Lauren Sanchez. Residents say the 61-year-old Amazon CEO will not receive a warm reception in the city. Instead, Bezos, his super-rich friends, and his $500m superyacht reportedly set to sail into Venetian waters, will be told to go away. The wedding is set to be a lavish affair with high-profile guests on their way to the city, including scores of film, fashion and business stars who have been graced with an exclusive invite to witness the world\u2019s third-richest man marry for the second time. Paparazzi will replace palazzi as Venice\u2019s striking feature for three days, as the city hosts what could be its largest ever celebrity wedding \u2013 with Oprah Winfrey and Ivanka Trump among the rumoured invitees. open image in gallery Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos in Santa Monica, California, …<\/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\/2676"}],"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=2676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2676\/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=2676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}