Photos show Venice locals protesting Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding: 'No space for Bezos'
Venetians protested against Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's upcoming wedding.
The wedding is expected to have around 200 guests during the last week of June.
Protesters cited concerns about overtourism in Venice, which gets 20 million visitors annually.
Venice is widely considered one of the world's most romantic cities, but some residents have found at least one wedding they're not celebrating.
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez are expected to tie the knot in Venice during the last week of June, with an estimated guest list of 200 — that's sure to include A-listers and fellow billionaires.
A group of Venetians protested the upcoming nuptials last week, citing concerns that the lavish event will not benefit local residents and will add to overtourism concerns that are already plaguing the historic city.
The island that makes up the city center, famous for its winding canals and gondola rides, is around 2 square miles. It is home to some 50,000 residents but welcomes 20 million tourists each year.
Photos showed protesters gathering in a Venetian town square and along the iconic Rialto Bridge with signs that read "No space for Bezos" with an image of a rocket ship, a nod to his rocket company, Blue Origin.
A representative for Bezos and Sánchez did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Here are photos of the protests, as well as what we know about the upcoming wedding plans and protesters' concerns.
Venice officials have said they welcome the wedding
Venice officials have confirmed the Amazon founder will be getting married in the city, saying the celebrations were expected to include some 200 guests. Reports have suggested different dates for the celebrations at the end of June.
The guest list is expected to include plenty of A-listers
Details about the wedding have been scarce, but the guest list is expected to include celebrities such as Katy Perry and Kim Kardashian, both of whom attended Sánchez's bachelorette in Paris earlier this year, as well as tech leaders such as Bill Gates.
Protesters said they wanted to discourage the idea of Venice as a tourist haven
Federica Toninello, an organizer of the protest, told demonstrators that they wanted to discourage the idea of Venice as a haven for tourists and cited the rising costs of living in the city, The New York Times reported.
She also said during the demonstration that the group has heard the wedding could be taking place at The Misericordia, a cultural and event center, and that if it does, they will try to block wedding attendees from reaching it.
"We will line the streets with our bodies, block the canals with lifesavers, dinghies, and our boats," she told the crowd.
Venice officials said they do not expect the event to cause significant disruptions
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has said the city is committed to ensuring the wedding does not disrupt daily life for Venetians.
The city has also said that the 200 expected guests are well within Venice's ability to host and on par with other weddings and events hosted in the city throughout the year.
A source close to Bezos and Sanchez told The Associated Press that the couple is sourcing around 80% of their wedding provisions from local vendors to show their appreciation for Venice.
Overtourism is a major concern in Venice
Though the city has said it is not concerned about the impact of Bezos's wedding, Venice has taken measures to address overtourism in recent years. The city introduced cruise ship size limits in 2021 and last year enacted an entrance fee for day-trippers during the busy season.
Alan Fyall, the Visit Orlando endowed chair of tourism marketing at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management, said Italy has long been a popular luxury wedding destination for Americans, and that the reported size of Bezos' wedding suggests it would not be a significant disruption.
But he said the protest demonstrates how high frustrations with overtourism in Venice have gotten.
"It all comes back to the bigger problem," he added.
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