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Times
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Venetians can't move for famous faces as Bezos wedding nears finale
On the tiny Venetian island of San Pietro di Castello, an idyll off the beaten track, a party is about to start. This is not the final bash of the 'wedding of the century' that was due to get under way next door over a high wall in the Arsenale but rather the neighbourhood's own annual street party, which has been running at least since the 1700s, when it was painted by the artist Canaletto. '[Jeff] Bezos is no bother to us. Venice hosts a lot of events like that,' said Paolo Basili, one of the organisers of the five-day street party, which features food, book recitals, visits to the church and a regatta commemorating the 10th-century rescue of 12 local brides after they were kidnapped by pirates. On Saturday night, dancing and live music were promised, rivalling the star-studded concert just over the wall. 'Their party is next door but ours is the important one,' Basili said. During the three-day wedding of Bezos, the Amazon boss, and the former journalist Lauren Sánchez, ordinary Venetians and tourists found themselves sharing narrow alleys and crowded canals with the international super-rich and Hollywood stars. They could bump into the Kardashian clan shopping, or the Microsoft founder Bill Gates checking out Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, his illustration of the perfect human form, which is on display at a Venice exhibition. Despite being worth an estimated $117 billion, Gates queued on Friday behind other tourists to buy his ticket for the show. He perhaps mentioned the rare chance to see the sketch to his fellow guest Ivanka Trump because she showed up on Saturday to see it, just as the newlyweds popped into Harry's Bar for lunch. The wedding was by turns a private affair but also very public. The geography of Venice gave the public access to the celebrities in a way events in Los Angeles or London rarely do. Reporters on a boat could chat to Bezos as he sped by in his launch. Orlando Bloom could be spotted from the water as he ate his breakfast on the terrace of the Gritti Palace hotel overlooking the Grand Canal. The British actor was billeted there alongside the singer Ellie Goulding, Leonardo DiCaprio, the Kardashians, Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney and the comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Further down the canal, the St Regis hosted guests needing a bit more police protection, including Gates, Queen Rania of Jordan and the OpenAI boss Sam Altman. • Jeff Bezos wedding: guests watch on as vows exchanged On Saturday, between the parties, outfit changes and cocktails, wedding guests found time to visit to a glass-blowing factory on the island of Murano. 'We were told to expect about a hundred people and I heard Leonardo Di Caprio proposed the visit because he is a fan of glass-blowing,' said Simonetta Regini, wife of the expert glass-worker Fabiano Amadi, whose creations reflect the ancient tradition on the Venetian island. 'Michele Obama, Ed Sheeran and Hilary Clinton have previously visited and the Bezos group is another boost for a craft that risks dying,' Regini said. The wedding was set to reach its grand finale with Saturday night's party at the Arsenale. The ancient shipyard, which once turned out warships during Venice's heyday, is still partly run by the Italian military and is hidden by crenellated walls. As the 200 guests readied to party in large halls in which vast sails were once stitched, workers were setting up trestle tables and security guards were busy ejecting journalists trying to sneak in. Forced to move there from another venue where protesters threatened to leap into surrounding canals with inflatable crocodiles, organisers barred boats from the basin at the centre of the Arsenale, which is used for the city's Biennale art and architecture shows. Saturday's bash followed the main event on Friday, when Bezos, 61, and Sánchez, 55, exchanged vows on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, where awnings thwarted spying drones and paparazzi bobbing in boats had to strain their ears to hear the opera singer Matteo Bocelli belting out Can't Help Falling in Love. Police were on alert on Saturday afternoon as protesters from around northern Italy who object to Bezos's wealth — and what they see as the 'Disneyfication' of Venice — gathered for a march from the train station to the Rialto bridge. 'We are against people who come here and park their superyachts outside the homes of people, including people who work for Amazon, who struggle to make it to the end of the month,' said Tommaso Cacciari, a leading protester. But on Via Garibaldi, locals were enthusiastic about the party. 'It's sweet they chose Venice. I'm happy for them,' said Roberta, 54, who was serving at a bakery. 'It's brings in money and the right kind of tourists.' Giancarlo Colombo, an antique dealer, added: 'We need people like him more than the daytrippers with rucksacks and sandwiches.'
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Police arrest 21 people after thousands attend Celtic title party
Police have arrested a total of 21 people after thousands of Celtic fans attended an unofficial street party in Glasgow at the were officially named league champions on Saturday after a 1-1 draw with St gathered in the Glasgow Cross and Trongate areas, despite a plea by the club for people not to attend due to safety fears and concerns from local said 17 people have been charged and four have been reported over offences including being in possession of pyrotechnics or offensive weapons, assault and public disorder. The force said it was still investigating further won its 55th league title last month but the trophy presentation traditionally takes place on the final day of the celebrations appeared to be smaller in scale than the 2024 event, which led to 19 arrests and left four officers injured. Around 500 police officers were on duty after events from previous years attracted anti-social behaviour, causing damage and Supt Emma Croft previously said a "significant majority" of the fans were "highly intoxicated" at this year's celebrations and some were hospitalised for suspected drug gatherings were not supported by the force or Glasgow City Council, which said previous events were disruptive and "robbed the public purse".The unofficial street party came on the same day as a major Orange walk in the city, although it took place without incident in the said some businesses were forced to close as a result of the shelters in the area were dismantled ahead of the match to prevent fans from climbing on the roofs, but many scaled other structures including signs and traffic bombs were let off as a police helicopter monitored the crowds from the air.
Washington Post
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
3 people in hospital after Paris street partying following PSG's Champions League semifinal win
PARIS — One person was in critical condition Thursday and two others also hospitalized after being hit by a car in the French capital amid street partying by Paris Saint-Germain fans after the soccer club reached the Champions League final. The injuries were an exception on a night that was largely marked by jubilation at PSG's 2-1 victory — 3-1 on aggregate — over Arsenal in its second-leg semifinal Wednesday night . It's only the second time the team has made it to the final of Europe's elite tournament.
BBC News
06-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Swindon residents recreate 1945 VE Day street party photo
Residents recreate 1945 VE Day street party photo 9 minutes ago Share Save Share Save A photograph of a VE Day street party snapped eight decades ago has been recreated on the same spot by local residents. On 8 May 1945, Britain rejoiced when Germany surrendered, bringing to an end the war in Europe. To celebrate, street parties were held up and down the country including on Florence Street in Gorse hill, Swindon. To mark the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe, Florence Street's current residents got together to recreate a photo taken on the street on the day in 1945. Victory in Europe (VE) Day on 8 May 1945 saw Britain and its Allies formally accept Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender. The following day at 15:00 BST, Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced over the radio that the war in Europe had come to an end, sparking spontaneous celebrations across the country. On Florence Street in Swindon, people celebrated the end of almost six years of conflict with a street party. Dave Sawyer, who lived with his family in a "two up, two down" said he could not spot himself in the 1945 photograph but he was "only three at the time". "Things were very tight from 1945 until the early 50s. Everything was on ration," he said. "If you had a pound you couldn't spend it in the sweet shop, just three penny-worth of sweets and that was your lot." "We went through so many hardships but it brought the community closer together." To mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe, Florence Street's current residents got together to recreate a photo taken on the street on the day in 1945. Don Keene was just eight-years-old when he was snapped at another local VE day street party. "We didn't have any bunting because textiles were rationed," he said. "[But there] would have been jam sandwiches, margarine - no butter that was too scarce, fish paste and meat paste sandwiches and red jelly and blancmange." He said there were very few men at the street parties because "all our dads were away and they didn't all come back". Ruth Butler, from the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, said photographs of the country's VE Day celebrations do show "mostly women" partying. "It's a national holiday, two days of public holiday were announced but not everyone who was in uniform would have been given the day off," she said. "So requests for leave for VE day were not always granted. So not everybody is out partying." Allow Facebook content? Meta's cookie policy privacy policy 'accept and continue'. This article contains content provided by Facebook . We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to readandbefore accepting. To view this content choose Accept and continue Christine Telling, who has lived on Florence Street for more than 35 years, said "it's a really nice little street". "It's very interesting to see, going back all those years ago, what it was like," she said. "Actually the street hasn't hardly changed at all but it's just nice to see the people - it's really interesting." Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
