Activists stage a protest in Venice, Italy, Saturday, June 28, 2025, denouncing the three-day celebrations for the marriage between Jeff Bezos and his spouse Lauren Sanchez Bezos that came about in Venice.
Antonio Calanni/AP/AP
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Antonio Calanni/AP/AP
VENICE, Italy — Lots of of protesters marched via Venice’s central streets on Saturday to say “No” to billionaire Jeff Bezos, his bride and their much-awaited wedding ceremony extravaganza, which reached its third and remaining day amid celebrity-crowded events and the outcries of drained residents.
On Friday, the world’s fourth-richest man and his bride Lauren Sanchez Bezos tied the knot throughout a personal ceremony with round 200 superstar visitors on the secluded island of San Giorgio.
The marriage, nonetheless, angered many Venetians, with some activists protesting it as an exploitation of town by the billionaire Bezos, whereas odd residents undergo from overtourism, excessive housing prices and the fixed risk of climate-induced flooding.
As the 2 newlyweds ready for the ultimate get together Saturday night, a whole lot of Venetians and protesters from throughout Italy crammed Venice’s tiny streets with colourful banners studying “Kisses Sure, Bezos No” and “No Bezos, no Warfare.” Venice has round 50,000 residents.
The demonstration contrasted with the costly wedding ceremony bonanza, seen by critics as an affront to the lagoon metropolis’s fragile surroundings and its residents, overwhelmed by throngs of vacationers.
“We’re right here to proceed ruining the plans of those wealthy individuals, who accumulate cash by exploiting many different individuals … whereas the circumstances of this metropolis stay precarious,” mentioned Martina Vergnano, one of many demonstrators.
The protest organizers claimed that their deliberate protest had compelled the relocation of Saturday’s get together from a supposed preliminary location to a former medieval shipyard, the Arsenale.
Bezos donated 1 million euros ($1.17 million) every to 3 environmental analysis organizations working to protect Venice, based on Corila, the Venetian environmental analysis affiliation.
However many protesters blasted the transfer as a transparent try and appease offended residents.
“We would like a free Venice, which is lastly devoted to its residents. … These donations are only a distress and solely geared toward clearing Bezos’ conscience,” mentioned Flavio Cogo, a Venetian activist who joined Saturday’s protest.
Particulars of the unique wedding ceremony ceremony Friday night time had been a carefully guarded secret, till Sánchez Bezos posted to Instagram a photograph of herself beaming in a white robe as she stood alongside a tuxedo-clad Bezos.
Athletes, celebrities, influencers and enterprise leaders converged to enjoy extravagance that was as a lot a testomony to the couple’s love as to their extraordinary wealth.
The star-studded visitor checklist included Oprah Winfrey and NFL nice Tom Brady, together with Hollywood stars Leonardo Di Caprio and Orlando Bloom, tech entrepreneur and philanthropist Invoice Gates and high socialites, together with the Kardashian-Jenner clan.
Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner and their three kids additionally joined the celebrations.
The bride and groom stayed on the Aman Venice lodge on the Grand Canal, the place Bezos posed for images and Sanchez Bezos blew kisses to the press.
“The planet is burning however don’t fret, this is the checklist of the 27 attire of Lauren Sánchez,” learn one protest slogan, a reference to the bride’s reported wedding ceremony weekend wardrobe. It featured a mermaid-lined wedding ceremony robe by Dolce & Gabbana and different Dolce Vita-inspired seems by Italian designers, together with Schiaparelli and Bottega Veneta.
The town administration has strongly defended the nuptials as in step with Venice’s custom as an open metropolis that has welcomed popes, emperors and odd guests alike for hundreds of years.
