‘No Space For Jeff Bezos’: Read why the city of Venice is protesting against Amazon founder’s Rs 480 Crore wedding
Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos (61) and his former TV journalist partner Lauren Sanchez (55) are getting married in a lavish multi-day ceremony in Venice, Italy. The couple has landed in the city for a three-day celebration that is expected to cost up to €48 million (almost ₹480,28,80,000) from 26th to 28th June with 200-250 VIP guests. The city’s airport reportedly saw the landing of 95 private aircrafts.
However, due to security concerns and the potential for demonstrations, the wedding was rescheduled to a remote and less accessible area of the lagoon city. The couple had planned to enjoy their nuptial in Cannaregio, a well-known and bustling nightlife district, but they had to adjust their plans to avoid protests.
Some locals and pressure organizations have been threatening blockades for weeks, saying that the event will convert the picturesque city of gondolas and palazzi into a private amusement park for the wealthy. The high-profile guests from the entertainment, political and financial sectors will now proceed to Arsenale, an extensive 14th-century complex in the eastern Castello district.
It is believed to be a safe from protests because it is surrounded by water, fortified walls and is inaccessible by land when connecting bridges are raised. The Arsenale, which was formerly a massive shipyard that supplied the Venetian Republic’s maritime empire, has been renovated and transformed into an exhibition area for the Venice Biennale art event.
Elon Musk, Leonardo Dicaprio, Eva Longoria, Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger, the Kardashian and Jenner family and pop sensation Katy Perry are among the attendees. The Amazon owner’s mega yacht, reportedly valued at over $500 million, is docked at the port of Venice for the wedding where the bride and the groom will be joined by their famous guests for a party.
Nevertheless, not everyone in the city is excited for one of the most expensive weddings.
Why people are protesting against the Bezos wedding
The “privatisation” and “exploitation” of the city, according to the protesters, are the main issues, not the marriage itself. They had been threatening to take over the city and disrupt peace for weeks by vowing to take action against the wedding and its preparations. The couple reportedly backed down when demonstrators warned to obstruct the access of their guests by filling the canals with inflatable crocodiles, according to the “No Space for Bezos” group.
The event is being protested by over a dozen Venetian organizations, including housing advocates, anti-cruise ship campaigners, and university groups, under the banner “No Space for Bezos”. The group initially gained attention when Mayor Luigi Brugnaro of Venice declared that Bezos and Sanchez would marry in Venice.
The group displayed a banner on the major bell tower of the remote island of San Giorgio Maggiore that featured the name of the Amazon owner crossed out. The renowned Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal was draped with another banner.
The protesters have put out anti-Bezos banners on famous Venetian locations during small-scale demonstrations. Greenpeace and the British organization “Everyone Hates Elon,” which destroyed Tesla cars in protest against Elon Musk, joined them this week to raise a huge banner in Saint Mark’s Square against tax benefits for billionaires.
A banner in Venice featured Jeff Bezos’s laughing visage magnified to enormous proportions and dispersed around a plaza with “If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax,” written above the picture in Piazza San Marco. It was swiftly removed by the police. “No space for Bezos,” “No Kings” and “F**k Bezos,” among others images, were laser-projected onto a structure in Venice on 26th June.
Additionally, a life-size mannequin holding cash was spotted attached to a huge Amazon box while sporting a blue jumpsuit of Amazon employees. It was spotted floating past gondolas in Venice. Borne Media, an activist outfit, used a remotely controlled motorized raft to stage the protest.
Demonstrators take over Venice
The local activists had organized a more structured agitation with the goal of blocking boat access to canals so that guests could not arrive at the wedding location on 28th June. They then declared victory and changed the protest to a march from the train station, saying their pressure compelled organizers to move the event to the Arsenale, a more easily protected site outside of Venice’s crowded core.
“It will be a strong, decisive protest, but peaceful. We want it to be like a party, with music, to make clear what we want our Venice to look like,” stated Federica Toninello, an activist with the Social Housing Assembly network.
Tommaso Cacciari, a key figure in the campaign that was successful in preventing cruise ships weighing more than 25,000 tons from passing through the Giudecca Canal in central Venice, stated that Bezos has a different political and corporate character. “Bezos is not a Hollywood actor. He is an ultra-billionaire who sat next to Donald Trump during the inauguration, who contributed to his re-election and is contributing in a direct and heavy way to this new global obscurantism,” he accused.
The location change, per local press accounts, was also brought on by security concerns following United States entry into the conflict between Israel and Iran, particularly since President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, arrived in Venice on 24th June. Venice’s officials have increased security around the city, especially in the Jewish neighborhood. Ivanka Trump is married to Jared Corey Kushner, a Jewish-American businessman and investor.
The activists declared that they would plan a “no Bezos, no war” march rather than seek to interrupt the wedding. “We feel as if we scored a victory. The crocodile initiative would have given a bad impression of the city, this is why the venue was changed even if the authorities might try to claim it was because of the war,” expressed one protestor.
“We have shown once again that Venice is not a servant of the powerful but continues to be rebellious and resistant. Now, faced with the war scenario that looms on the horizon, at a time when the eyes of the world are focused on Venice, we invite everyone to join the cry ‘no war’,” remarked “No Space for Bezos” on social media.
According to Greenpeace, the initiative’s goal was to draw attention to the “social and climate injustice” of these kinds of events. It claimed that lifestyles driven by “the arrogance of a few billionaires” are harming the world and that “Bezos embodies an economic and social model that is leading us towards collapse.”
Multiple groups unite to protest against the wedding
Notably, climate change campaigners, residents fighting overtourism and others opposed to Bezos’ backing for Donald Trump have united to protest against the A-list mega-event. Protest banners have been spread from bridges over the canals and “No Space for Bezos” placards have been strewn all over the city in recent days.
Concerns are also raised by critics regarding the tech tycoon’s political affiliations as well as Amazon’s labor policies and continuing tax conflicts with European governments. Furthermore, activists contend that the Bezos wedding is a prime example of larger shortcomings in local government, specifically the preference for tourists over the interests of locals.
They point to ineffectual policies like the day-tripper tax, which they argue serves to further solidify Venice’s reputation as a theme park. Their main grievance is the underfunding of basic services and affordable housing.
On the other hand, the wedding has been defended by city officials who denied that the occasion would cause any disturbances, and Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who hoped to meet Bezos during his visit, referred to it as an honor for Venice. “Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage. Those 20 people who are putting up posters are clearly capitalising on his image,” he emphasised. Corila, a Venetian environmental research society, revealed in a statement that Bezos run Earth Fund was providing a “important donation” to help its efforts.
Sanchez and Bezos had declared their engagement in 2003. Bezos was previously married to novelist and co-founder of Amazon, MacKenzie Scott and Sanchez’s former husband is Patrick Whitesell, who runs a Hollywood agency. There are reports that former US Marines have been employed to provide security, five hotels are completely booked, luxury yachts have occupied the harbor while private jets clogged up the Venice airport.
News