‘No area for Bezos’: Venice locals protest billionaire’s marriage ceremony plans – Nationwide

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sanchez are preparing to have their star-studded wedding in Venice, Italy, at the end of June, but many locals are claiming there’s “No Space For Bezos” in the city.

Last week, activists in Venice gathered to organize protests on June 26, 27 and 28 — the dates of the upcoming wedding festivities — over the risk of disruptions in a city already overrun with mass tourism.

Large banners, graffiti and stickers were displayed all around the city that read “No Space for Bezos” with an image of a spaceship, seemingly making reference to Bezos’ ownership of Blue Origin.

Many details surrounding the upcoming nuptials have remained secret, but one Venice resident told The New York Times that “we have our moles.”

Federica Toninello, a protest organizer, told the paper that one of the venues could be The Misericordia, a large space dedicated to culture and events in Venice.

“Bezos will never get to the Misericordia,” she said. “We will line the streets with our bodies, block the canals with lifesavers, dinghies and our boats.”

“We have to block Bezos, we have to block this idea of this city as a tourist haven that has driven up housing costs so that most ordinary Venetians can no longer afford to live here,” she told The New York Times.

“Let’s make sure that Venice is not remembered as a postcard venue where Bezos had his wedding but as the city that did not bend to oligarchs,” Na Haby Stella Faye, another protester, told the outlet. “We have a chance to disrupt a $10-million wedding — let’s do it.”

According to NBC, officials said that about 30 of the 280 water taxis in the city have been reserved for the wedding and only three or four hotels will be used to accommodate those attending the event, which is reportedly set to begin June 24.

The city also said about 200 guests would be invited to the wedding, noting that the number of attendees are easy to accommodate.

“The city is fully accustomed to hosting high-profile events of this nature and scale, including other celebrity weddings, international summits such as the G7 and G20, as well as traditional events like the Festa del Redentore and the Venice Biennale,” the statement said.

“Protest initiatives are in no way representative of the majority of citizens, who are proud that Venice has been chosen as the wedding location,” the statement added.

Despite the backlash, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said that Venice is “very proud” to host the wedding.

“We are very proud,” Brugnaro told The Associated Press, saying he hoped he would get the chance to meet Bezos. “I don’t know if I will have time, or if he will, to meet and shake hands, but it’s an honour that they chose Venice. Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage.”

Trending Now

• 3-year-old child killed after being hit by starting gate at N.B. horse race

• Spanish locals shoot water at visitors in protests against mass tourism

In March, Brugnaro told People that the city denied reports from media that wedding organizers booked large amounts of hotel rooms, gondolas and water taxis for the wedding transportation.

“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,” he told the outlet.

“The many speculations and fake news circulating about Jeff Bezos’ wedding are completely unfounded,” the city added in a statement, saying that it “is their utmost priority to make sure the city functions as normal, for all, with no abnormal disruption to anyone.”

Bezos and Sanchez have invited celebrity friends like fellow space traveller Katy Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger and Ivanka Trump for their Venice nuptials, but the couple hopes to put a spotlight on Venice’s traditions during the celebrations.

They are sourcing some 80 per cent of their wedding provisions from Venetian vendors, according to The Associated Press, as a way to share their appreciation for the romantic lagoon city. The wedding will take place over three days in late June, with events for the some 200 invited guests kept private.

Two historic Venetian companies will add artisanal touches to the celebration: Rosa Salva, the city’s oldest pastry maker that has been crafting donut-shaped fishermen’s biscuits since 1876, and Laguna B, a design studio known for its distinctive handblown Murano glass prized by fashion and design clients.

Antonio Rosa Salva, the sixth generation in his family to run the business, said the wedding order of a selection of surprises for goody bags was important recognition of his family’s long tradition of baking Venetian specialties dating back nearly 150 years.

Rosa Salva, whose business regularly caters large events for 1,000 or more people in Venice, is perplexed by posters that have gone up around the historic centre protesting the use of the city as a venue for the Bezos-Sanchez wedding.

“Events like this bring quality tourism to Venice,” he said. “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.”

Laguna B was founded by Marie Brandolini, who became known as the glass countess, in 1994, and the company is now being guided by her son, Marcantonio Brandolini, from the family’s palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal.

“I hope they like what we did for them,” Brandolini said. “For us, it’s a great opportunity, it gives extra support for our growth.”

“The world is for everybody. Whoever wants to do something, should be able to do it, following the law,” he added of Bezos and Sanchez’s choice of wedding venue.

— With files from The Associated Press

&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.