Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former journalist Lauren Sanchez arrived in Venice on Wednesday — kicking off what is expected to be a weekend of lavish wedding festivities for the couple, attended by some of the world’s top celebrities and drawing the ire of locals and protesters, who view it as a crass example of the huge disparity between the one per cent and everyone else.
Bezos and Sanchez waved as they arrived at the dock of the Aman hotel, a five-star hotel on the Italian city’s Grand Canal, with two security boats in tow.
Some 90 jets are expected to arrive at local airports ahead of the weekend event. About 200 guests are expected, among them Ivanka Trump and her family, Mick Jagger, Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Venice City Hall issued a directive on Wednesday cordoning off the area — isolating guests from activists who have been protesting for weeks that the celebrations will turn the city of gondolas and palazzi into a private amusement park for the rich.
“There’s only one thing that rules now: money, money, money, so we are the losers,” Venice resident Nadia Rigo said.
Festivities will kick off on Thursday night with an open-air gathering in the cloisters of Madonna dell’Orto, a medieval church in the central area of Cannaregio known for its lively nightlife, a source close to the matter told Reuters.
The date and venue of the wedding itself are still unknown, and some have speculated that Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, may already have tied the knot in a private ceremony in the United States.
Protesters have also been in the city all week. Activists argue that the Bezos-Sanchez wedding exemplifies broader failures in municipal governance. Chief among their concerns is the lack of investment in affordable housing and essential services.
City officials have defended the wedding. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro called the event an honour for Venice, and the city denied the wedding would cause disruptions.
“Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage,” Brugnaro told The Associated Press, adding he hoped to meet Bezos while he was in town.
