Activists in Venice are stepping up protests to disrupt or prevent the planned wedding celebrations of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Emmy-winning journalist, pilot, and entrepreneur Lauren Sánchez next week. Preparations for the three-day nuptial festivities, reportedly expected to take place from June 26 to June 28, have been raising concerns among activists who claim that Venice is becoming a playground for the rich to the detriment of its inhabitants. The activists have started a “No Space for Bezos” campaign, a play on words referencing Bezos’ Blue Origin spaceflight venture.
Over the weekend, they hung a huge banner on St. Mark’s Tower in Venice with “Bezos” in blue capital letters and a red X over it. The campaign has also unfurled other banners and pasted stickers on walls throughout the city.
Venetian activists rally against Bezos
Federica Toninelli, a 33-year-old Venetian activist affiliated with the “No Space for Bezos” protesters, stated, “This wedding is the symbol of the exploitation of the city by outsiders.”
The protesters are threatening to block access to canals and the city’s narrow streets to prevent the reported roughly 200 guests invited to the Bezos-Sánchez wedding from reaching various party venues. Invited guests reportedly include celebrities such as Katy Perry, some of the Kardashians, Eva Longoria, Oprah Winfrey, and Gayle King.
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro expressed hope that the protests won’t succeed in disrupting the wedding plans. “We will have to apologize to Bezos,” Brugnaro told reporters in Venice. “I am ashamed of those who behave like this.
I hope that Bezos comes anyway,” he added, noting that “not all Venetians think like these protesters.”
If the Bezos-Sánchez wedding celebrations go through, they will mark the biggest nuptial bash to be held in Venice since George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin on the lagoon in 2014, a star-studded affair that was pulled off without a hitch.