Hundreds of people filled the streets and waterways of Venice to protest against the wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez on the final day of their multimillion-dollar celebrations.
The Amazon founder, 61, and his bride, 55, got married in a private ceremony on the secluded Venetian island of San Giorgio on Friday. Throughout the weekend, activists came out against the wedding, which they say is adding to chronic problems of overtourism, climate change-induced flooding, and spiralling costs for locals. On Saturday, demonstrators were seen clutching placards that read: “Kisses yes, Bezos no”, “No Bezos, no war”, and “118,000 Italian shops killed by Amazon”. Others gathered on the city’s famous Rialto Bridge, where they draped a banner that read: “No space for Bezos”.
The couple’s nuptials, estimated to have cost between £34m and £41m, took over multiple venues throughout the city. The newlyweds stayed in the luxury Aman hotel on the Grand Canal, where rooms cost £3,400 a night, while the 200 guests took over other luxury accommodation, complete with their entourage and security teams. City officials have defended agreeing to host the wedding of the world’s fourth richest man, citing its age-old tradition of welcoming popes, emperors, and ordinary visitors.
Bezos donated £850,000 (one million euros) to three environmental research organisations dedicated to preserving Venice, where the ailing infrastructure is under increasing pressure from cruise ships, extreme weather, and increasing numbers of tourists. But Venetian activist Flavio Cogo said: “We want a free Venice, which is finally dedicated to its citizens. “Those donations are just misery and only aimed at clearing Bezos’s conscience.”
