VENICE, Italy (AP) — This weekend’s star-studded Venice marriage ceremony of multi-billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez has galvanized activist teams which might be protesting it as an indication of the rising disparity between the haves and have-nots in addition to disregard of the town’s residents.
A few dozen Venetian organizations — together with housing advocates, anti-cruise ship campaigners and college teams — have united to protest the multi-day occasion below the banner “No House for Bezos,” a play on phrases additionally referring to the bride’s current area flight.
They’ve staged small-scale protests, unfurling anti-Bezos banners on iconic Venetian websites. They had been joined this week by Greenpeace and the British group “Everybody Hates Elon,” which has smashed Teslas to protest Elon Musk, to unfurl a large banner in St. Mark’s Sq. protesting purported tax breaks for billionaires.
“IF YOU CAN RENT VENICE FOR YOUR WEDDING YOU CAN PAY MORE TAX,” learn the banner, which featured an enormous picture of Bezos. Police shortly took it away.
There was no remark from Bezos’ representatives on the protests.
The native activists had deliberate a extra organized protest for Saturday, aiming to hinder entry to canals with boats to stop friends from reaching a marriage venue. Then they modified the protest to a march from the prepare station after claiming a victory, asserting that their stress pressured organizers to alter the venue to the Arsenale, a extra simply secured web site past Venice’s congested heart.
“Will probably be a powerful, decisive protest, however peaceable,’’ stated Federica Toninello, an activist with the Social Housing Meeting community. “We wish it to be like a celebration, with music, to clarify what we wish our Venice to appear like.”
Among the many 200 friends confirmed to be attending the marriage are Mick Jagger, Ivanka Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Venice, famend for its romantic canal vistas, hosts a whole bunch of weddings every year, not occasionally these of the wealthy and well-known. Earlier superstar weddings, like that of George Clooney to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in 2014, had been embraced by the general public. Lots of turned out to want the couple nicely at Metropolis Corridor.
Bezos has a distinct political and enterprise profile, stated Tommaso Cacciari, a distinguished determine within the motion that efficiently pushed for a ban on cruise ships over 25,000 tons touring by means of the Giudecca Canal in central Venice.
Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos arrives on the Self-importance Truthful Oscar Get together on the Wallis Annenberg Heart for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif., March 2, 2025. (Photograph by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP File)
“Bezos will not be a Hollywood actor,’’ Cacciari stated. “He’s an ultra-billionaire who sat subsequent to Donald Trump throughout the inauguration, who contributed to his re-election and is contributing in a direct and heavy solution to this new world obscurantism.’’
Critics additionally cite Amazon’s labor practices, ongoing tax disputes with European governments and Bezos’ political associations as extra causes for concern.
Activists additionally argue that the Bezos marriage ceremony exemplifies broader failures in municipal governance, notably the prioritization of tourism over residents’ wants. They cite measures such because the day-tripper tax — which critics argue reinforces Venice’s picture as a theme park — as ineffective. Chief amongst their considerations is the shortage of funding in reasonably priced housing and important providers.
Metropolis officers have defended the marriage. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro referred to as the occasion an honor for Venice, and the town denied the marriage would trigger disruptions.
“Venice as soon as once more reveals itself to be a worldwide stage,’’ Brugnaro informed The Related Press, including he hoped to satisfy Bezos whereas he was on the town.
In the meantime, a Venetian environmental analysis affiliation, Corila, issued a press release saying Bezos’ Earth Fund was supporting its work with an “necessary donation.”
Corila, which unites college students and Italy’s fundamental nationwide analysis council in researching Venetian safety methods, wouldn’t say how a lot Bezos was donating however stated contact started in April, nicely earlier than the protests began.