Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is getting married in Venice next week. Some locals don’t like it and are sounding off.
A banner with Mr. Bezos’ name on it crossed out with a red X was displayed from a bell tower in the Italian city last week.
“Venice is not for sale, it is not for rent, it is not the backdrop for the wedding of one of the richest men in the world. … While [Mayor Luigi] Brugnaro gives the city to the logic of the big event, to unbridled tourism and corruption, the city is depopulating, the houses remain closed and abandoned, the services are increasingly limited and work becomes synonymous with precariousness,” the activists behind the banner told Il Gazzettino as translated from Italian.
Organizer Federica Toninello said protesters next week “will line the streets with our bodies, block the canals with lifesavers, dinghies and our boats,” according to The New York Times.
City officials, on the other hand, are welcoming the June 24-26 event.
“Only 200 guests will have been invited, and therefore it will be easy for Venice to accommodate such an event, without any disruption whatsoever to the city. … We are mutually working and supporting the organizers to ensure that the event will be absolutely respectful of the fragility and uniqueness of the city. … Whoever loves Venice will always be welcome,” Mr. Brugnaro said in a release in March.
Sources close to Mr. Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, told The Associated Press that the couple plans to source 80% of the event’s food, drink and other provisions from local vendors and businesses in Venice.
Luca Zaia, president of the Veneto region that includes the lagoon city, said that “protesting against those who bring us wealth is an absolute disgrace,” according to Il Gazzettino.
The local vendors contracted for the wedding also welcome the business and prestige that Mr. Bezos’ wedding is bringing to Venice.
Baker Antonio Rosa Salva, who is making goody bags for attendees, told AP, “I don’t see how an event with 200 people can create disruptions. It’s responsible tourism. It’s prestigious that a couple like this, who can go anywhere in the world, are getting married in the city.”
