VIPs arrive in Venice as Bezos wedding festivities begin
VIPs have been whizzing by speed boat through Venice as the three-day wedding party of businessman Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sánchez begins, amid protests in the Italian city.
They have reportedly invited about 200 guests to their multi-million euro nuptials, which are expected to begin with an open-air soiree in the cloisters of the 14th-century Madonna dell'Orto Church.
The couple arrived in Venice yesterday.
Ms Sánchez, 55, was spotted in a black dress with silver sequins - one of 27 outfits that she will reportedly wear during the festivities.
People, some wearing carnival masks, demonstrated in St Mark's Square, accusing authorities of pandering to the super rich while the city drowns under tourists.
As police broke up the protest, Veneto region president Luca Zaia said the couple will donate €3 million to the city - up from an initial €1m.
Wedding guests and their bodyguards nipped up and down the lagoon, closely followed by paparazzi in boats rented at exorbitant prices by the world's media.
Police on jet-skis patrolled the canals around the church as the party hour neared.
Guests spotted include Jordan's Queen Rania, British actor Orlando Bloom, US football player Tom Brady, Ivanka Trump - daughter of US President Donald Trump - and American fashion designer Spencer Antle.
US reality TV personalities Kim and Khloe Kardashian were snapped climbing into water taxis in stilettos, followed by talk show host Oprah Winfrey in an all-white outfit and runners.
Billionaire Mr Bezos, 61, and Ms Sánchez, a former news presenter and entertainment reporter, are staying at the Aman hotel, a luxury 16th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal with a view of the Rialto Bridge.
They will exchange vows tomorrow at a black-tie ceremony on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, according to Italian media reports.
The wedding itself is expected to take place in a vast open-air amphitheatre on the island, which sits across from St Mark's Square.
The newlyweds are to be serenaded by Matteo Bocelli, son of famed opera singer Andrea Bocelli, the reports said.
The celebrations will reportedly end on Saturday with a party at the Arsenale, a vast shipyard complex dating to when the city was a naval powerhouse.
Some locals say the A-list guests and their entourages bring good business.
Adriana, 83, said that "everyone wins" with the high-profile event, which has Venice's famed luxury hotels booked out, and is likely to inspire others to marry there.
Samuel Silvestri, a 55-year-old shopkeeper and resident, said the city's problem is day-trippers - "not the sort of tourism that turns Venice into a little Monte Carlo".
But critics have accused Mr Bezos of using the UNESCO site as his personal playground.
Environmental activists have also pointed to the carbon footprint of the mega yachts and dozens of private jets bringing the rich and famous to the city.
It is "an excessive display of wealth and greed", 51-year-old US tourist Christine Baker said.
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The Irish Sun
15 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
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But the Boomtown Rats were not guaranteed to have hits any more. All these new guys had come along with beautiful suits and coiffed hair. READ MORE ON MUSIC 'And I understood this new thing because my wife had befriended all these people on the show that she was host of, The Tube. 'So I called Paula and I asked who was on the show that night and she said, 'Ultravox'. I said, 'Put Midge Ure on' and he just said, 'What do you want to do?'.' That was the moment which led to the cream of British music coming together on November 25, 1984, to record Band Aid's Do they Know It's Christmas?, which then led to Live Aid on July 13, 1985. 'Lot of male egos' The global event saw Madonna, U2, David Bowie, Most read in Music They were broadcast worldwide in a bid to encourage donations to combat the Ethiopian famine. But fundraising to help victims was actually an idea dreamt up by Paula — who was just 25 — in the family home she shared with Bob, then 33, and their two-year-old daughter Fifi. 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This saw Bob team up with Midge to write Do They Know It's Christmas?, with a little help from pals such as Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet, who Bob pressured to sign up. 9 Paula hosted The Tube with Jools Holland Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 9 Paula and Bob join Prince Charles and Princess Diana to watch 1985 mega concert at Wembley Credit: Alamy In the documentary, Gary recalls: 'He came running in — his presence is huge, he takes over — and he said this report was from Ethiopia where the famine is huge and out of control and it broke my heart, and it broke Paula's heart.' Paula was also credited with holding things together when the Band Aid track was recorded — a day which could easily have been derailed by rivalries among the mostly male line-up of rock and pop superstars. As U2's Bono says in the programme: 'There was a lot of male egos in the room, not enough women.' 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Irish Examiner
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- Irish Examiner
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an hour ago
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Jake Paul storms out of Piers Morgan interview wearing a sombrero after claiming he would beat peak Mike Tyson
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