Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez will unite their destinies in Venice in a lavish wedding, which will take three days and which may be attended by US President Donald Trump.
Bezos marries Lauren Sanchez, a former archive photo presenter
When George and Amal Clooney joined their destinies in Venice, in 2014, blocking Grand Canal and filling the narrow streets of the city with celebrities and paparazzi, the Venetians embraced the show, they could again display their beauty and romance of the hometown. But the news that Venice will host Jeff Bezos’s wedding, Amazon’s founding billionaire, and Lauren Sánchez, former TV journalist, was not received with the same enthusiasm, writes The Guardian.
The idea of this three-day event, scheduled between June 24 and 26, would have been planted by the Italian designer Domenico Dolce, who last year mentioned to Morris Ceron, the head of the cabinet of the Venice Local Council, that the two were looking for a magical destination to unite their destinies.
According to the Italian press, the wedding organizers have completely booked five of the most luxurious hotels in Venice, almost the entire water taxis fleet and a pier for Bezos’s mega-Iia. Hundreds of guests are expected, including former US President Donald Trump.
Far from criticizing the over-tourism, which intensified in Venice in the 11 years since the wedding of the spouses Clooney and led to the introduction last year an access fee for one day tourists, the mayor of the city, Luigi Brugnaro, publicly satisfied Ceron for attracting the two in Venice.
“The event will have an economic impact of millions of euros for our city”he told the Venetian edition of the newspaper Corriere della Sera.
But not everyone sees things the same.
Venetians, upset because of the event
“It will be a great inconvenience”said Francesca, a tour guide. “I think most people are of the same opinion. We are exasperated by a whole series of problems related to over-tourism, and this is still a thing imposed on the city, which we must bear.”
Clooney wedding was also a challenge for Francesca because she created “Much confusion and it was impossible to move through the city”but the actor and his bride, a lawyer specialized in human rights, were appreciated.
“They were very kind and relaxed, they may seem less invasive.”she said. “We have no idea what kind of behavior to expect from them.”
Trump and Oprah, among the possible guests
The list of guests is rumored to be Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey, Eva Longoria, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom and his fiancé, Katy Perry. Also, Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, were invited.
Bezos and Sánchez had places primarily at the inauguration of Trump’s presidency in January, which makes the presence of the former White House leader.
It is not clear where exactly the wedding will take place, although it could be organized at the Dogeilor Palace, the former center of power during the period when Venice was a republic.
“The city that sells to the largest bidder”
Giusi Giudice, another tour guide, said that Venice is used to hosting big events and that, since everyone will make money from the event, it does not understand why people complain.
“Are they just envious of the rich? It didn’t matter to the Clooney family, but here we have a pro-trump billionaire and, perhaps, for this reason it is perceived as less sympathetic.”she said.
Matteo Secchi, the leader of the activist group Venessia.com, said everyone, “Whether rich or poor,” is welcome in Venice. “However, what bothers us is that we get over it just because a rich man comes. We are the city that sells to the greatest bidder.”
On the social media accounts of the Venezia Non è Disneyland group (Venice is not Disneyland), created by young Venetians to raise awareness of the city, numerous comments about Bezos’s wedding appeared, joking that wedding fees should be imposed.
“We are waiting for more details before making an official comment”said one of the group’s activists. “But the city hosted Pope Francis last year. So I think we can tolerate this kind of wedding.”
