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Jeff Bezos's wedding would be better in Beverly Hills, says abbot
The abbot of one of Venice's most famous churches has joined the protest against Jeff Bezos's star-studded wedding in the city next week, telling the Amazon tycoon he would be better off marrying in a Beverly Hills mansion.
Stefano Visintin is the latest local resident to complain about the planned three-day party for 200 guests, said to include Kim Kardashian, Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump.
One venue said to be hired out by Bezos is San Giorgio Maggiore, the tiny island facing St Mark's Square where the world's third richest man and his bride, Lauren Sánchez, are expected to hold a concert at an open-air amphitheatre with lagoon views.
However, the island is also home to a 16th-century church designed by Andrea Palladio and presided over by Visintin, who told The Times he was concerned noisy protesters on boats would try to halt guests arriving.
'Bezos has plenty of enemies in Venice and they may all converge on San Giorgio Maggiore,' he said. 'People are free to hold parties, but this one is going to attract huge attention, a police presence and a protest that could get dangerous. Maybe Bezos could have picked a more isolated and controllable venue. Why not a mansion in Beverly Hills?'
Visintin said he got an early taste of the tension to come when protesters scaled the church's bell tower last week and hung a banner with a red line drawn through the name Bezos. 'We will be forced to close the tower during the wedding. We do not want to close the church otherwise people will think Bezos is getting married in it, which is not the case,' the abbot said.
The protesters who hung the banner and who have plastered Venice with posters criticising the wedding are a collection of unionists, students, activists against over-tourism and housing rights campaigners going by the name 'No Space for Bezos'.
'Bezos arrogantly believes he can take over the city and turn it into his own private party venue,' said Tommaso Cacciari, a leading member.
Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, strikes a more welcoming tone. He has dismissed the protesters as a small minority and said he is 'proud' the tycoon picked the city. His officials point out that celebrity weddings are commonplace in Venice, including George and Amal Clooney's in 2014, and celebrities flock in annually for the Venice film festival.
Cacciari argued that Bezos was a special case. 'We are protesting because of his support for President Trump and his exploitation of Amazon workers,' he said. 'This is political.'
The reported dates for the bash have slipped from June 24-26 to June 26-28, and Cacciari claimed the schedule featured a party at the Pagoda beach club at the Venice Lido on the 26th, the event on San Giorgio Maggiore the following day and an event at a 16th-century hall, the Scuola Grande di Santa Maria della Misericordia, on the 28th.
Cacciari, who is the nephew of a former mayor of Venice, accused Brugnaro of having a 'conflict of interest' over the use of the city-owned hall since it is rented out by a firm he set up before he was elected. 'We will be filling the canals that access the building with inflatable animals, like crocodiles, to peacefully block access, or at least show the billionaires that this is not Las Vegas,' Cacciari said.
The protest has made headlines around the world and turned into a lesson for Bezos on how not to conduct public relations. As the tycoon's representatives tried to keep details of event secret, unfounded stories about the city's water taxis being block-booked and canals being shut by Bezos went viral.
Recent claims by the Bezos camp that the wedding will use local bakeries and glass makers, thus investing in the local economy look like a late attempt to change the narrative. 'The mistake they made was believing they didn't need to explain and believing that Venice would be proud to host the wedding,' said Gianluca Comin, founder of Comin & Partners, an Italian PR company. 'Whereas Venetians actually believe the city bestows prestige on those who visit.'
