Why protests are planned over wedding of one of world's richest men

Billionaire Jeff Bezos is marrying Lauren Sanchez, a erstwhile TV journalist, successful a glitzy multi-day lawsuit successful Venice.

While metropolis officials haven't confirmed the wedding details, Italian media has reported that it volition beryllium a three-day matter betwixt Tuesday and Thursday this week.

The wedding enactment volition reportedly instrumentality implicit the full land of San Giorgio other St Mark's Square - but the determination of the ceremonial itself remains private.

The impermanent database is rumoured to see Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger and Ivanka Trump, arsenic good arsenic popular prima Katy Perry, who joined Ms Sanchez successful the all-female personage unit that travelled to abstraction successful April.

They and different personage guests specified arsenic Leonardo Dicaprio and Eva Longoria are acceptable to articulation the mates for parties connected the Amazon owner's ace yacht, worthy astir $500m (£371m), which volition dock successful the larboard of Venice for the wedding, Sky TG24 successful Italy reports.

But not everyone successful the metropolis is excited.

Why are determination protests?

Protesters bash not person an contented with the matrimony itself but with what they accidental is the "privatisation" and "exploitation" of the city.

"He is fundamentally going to dainty the full metropolis arsenic a backstage ballroom, arsenic a backstage lawsuit area, arsenic if the citizens are not there," said Alice Bazzoli, an activistic with No Space for Bezos.

Members of the radical person told Sky News that the lawsuit volition adjacent parts of the metropolis and marque it hard for locals to get around, arsenic good arsenic posing biology concerns with the usage of yachts successful the canals.

"This is not what Venice needs. This is not what a metropolis that is already suffering from overtourism needs," Federica Toninelli, different activistic associated with No Space for Bezos, said.

The metropolis has agelong struggled with precocious tourism numbers.

Millions travel to spot the World Heritage Site for its medieval architecture, crammed into a picturesque canal network.

However, this pushes up the outgo of surviving for locals and tends to make lone low-paid impermanent employment.

"It's going to bring money, yes, but we are not going to spot immoderate money," said Ms Toninelli.

The protests are besides linked to wider issues astir affordable lodging and a dwindling section colonisation successful Venice's historical centre.

"Do we privation our metropolis adjacent much invaded by tourists, by oligarchs, and radical who bargain and privatise the city, oregon bash we privation services, jobs, wellness services, schools, universities? Do we privation to unrecorded successful the metropolis similar mean people, oregon merchantability it to the champion offer?" Ms Bazzoli added

What protests are planned?

Members of No Space for Bezos are readying to disrupt celebrations this week.

They unfurled a monolithic banner connected 12 June from the doorbell operation of the San Giorgio Maggiore basilica with Bezos's sanction crossed out.

They are readying different objection connected 28 June wherever they volition artifact guests from arriving astatine a enactment by blocking the canals with boats and their bodies, adding that it volition beryllium peaceful.

"We privation to instrumentality backmost our metropolis that we are seeing perpetually being privatised and taken distant from us," Ms Toninelli told Sky News.

What has the effect been to the protests?

The politician of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, has said helium is "honoured" that the metropolis is hosting the lawsuit - "Once again Venice proves to beryllium a satellite stage."

He added: "Those 20 radical who are putting up posters are intelligibly capitalising connected [Jeff Bezos's] image."

The metropolis of Venice has antecedently denied that the lawsuit would disrupt locals, saying h2o taxi services would tally usually and that lone 200 guests had been invited.

"Venice is utilized to being the signifier for events and shows each week, without important impacts," a connection said, citing G20 and G7 summits, the Architecture and Cinema Biennales, arsenic good arsenic backstage events.

It added that the metropolis has erstwhile acquisition of hosting large events successfully.

Mr Bezos has been contacted for comment.

So what different events has the cited hosted?

George and Amal Clooney famously got joined determination successful 2014.

The histrion arrived astatine his ceremonial astatine the Aman Grande Canal Hotel connected a boat, alongside guests including Matt Damon and exemplary Cindy Crawford.

The metropolis besides hosted satellite leaders for the 2021 G20 summit, arsenic good arsenic its yearly Venice Film Festival.

How does Venice spot limits connected tourists?

Venice has been struggling with the impacts of overtourism.

There were astir 50,000 radical surviving successful the historical metropolis centre successful 2023 - and astir 4.9 cardinal tourer arrivals - according to the information gathering website Statista.

In 2024, it became the archetypal metropolis successful the satellite to present a outgo strategy for tourists, with officials carrying retired random checks to marque definite radical beyond introduction points person a QR code.

As it stands, those visiting betwixt April and July for a time travel wage a modular interest of €5, unless they person booked little than 4 days earlier their visit, successful which lawsuit they indispensable wage double.

The metropolis has besides enactment successful spot a size bounds of 25 radical for tourer groups to trim crowds.

Where other person determination been tourer protests?

Venice isn't the lone European metropolis wherever locals are frustrated with tourer numbers.

Protesters successful Barcelona sprayed tourists with h2o guns arsenic portion of demonstrations precocious implicit the fig of visitors.

Anti-tourism activists person besides staged protests successful different fashionable vacation destinations crossed Spain, including Palma, Malaga and the Canary Islands, claiming that visitors thrust up lodging costs and pb to residents being incapable to spend to unrecorded successful metropolis centres.