Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger and Kim Kardashian are all believed to be on the guest list when the world's third richest man, also space entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, marries TV journalist Lauren Sánchez in Venice at the end of June. Sánchez became known to the world earlier this year when she, as one of five female travelers, made a space trip in her future husband's spacecraft Blue Origin.
But not everyone is equally happy about the upcoming love festival. Protests against the wedding have taken off and around the city, banners and posters with the text "No Bezos" can be seen.
"Sold to the highest bidder"
We will block the canals, says protest organizer Federica Toninello according to CNN.
They plan to jump into the canals to prevent wedding guests from getting through by water taxi.
Another demonstrator, Marta Sottoriva, tells The Guardian that Venice has been "sold to the highest bidder".
This wedding is really a symbol of everything that is wrong with Venice, she claims.
The protests seem to be directed against Bezos' choice of location for his wedding. Venice is heavily affected by tourists and several attempts have been made to counteract mass tourism. As recently as last weekend, protests were organized against two hotels that were recently built in an area that had previously been free from hotels. And the city has also introduced a fee for tourists who visit the city without staying overnight.
"The world's most beautiful city?"
But Simone Venturini, deputy mayor of the city, opposes the criticism of the upcoming wedding:
Venice has already hosted more complex and significant events, he tells The Guardian.
Is it perhaps wrong that Venice is the world's most beautiful city?
