Venice Protests Jeff Bezos' Wedding Amid Buzz Over Bizarre Mannequins
As Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez prepare for their extravagant wedding, Venice has unexpectedly become the backdrop for both celebration and controversy. Tourists are crowding around realistic mannequins of the couple placed across the city. One bizarre statue of Bezos, wrapped in fake dollar bills, has become a viral sensation.
A towering sculpture of Bezos, over six feet tall and larger than life, now stands among the Venetian crowds. The statue, comically draped in counterfeit bills with his face printed on them, has sparked curiosity and laughter. Created by sculptors dressed as Amazon staff, the installation mixes art and satire, drawing attention from amused onlookers—and even curious pigeons, as TMZ noted.
But these installations are more than quirky photo ops. Many of them, eerily lifelike, are seen as protest symbols. Critics argue the wedding, with its celebrity guest list, could intensify space issues in a city already overcrowded during peak tourist season.
Luxury and excess appear central to the festivities, with reports suggesting Sanchez may wear over $30 million worth of jewelry. Meanwhile, celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Tom Brady, and Leonardo DiCaprio are expected to attend, raising concerns among Venetians who say the city is being turned into a private playground for the wealthy.
Local activists insist their issue is not with the marriage itself, but with what it represents. They say Venice is slowly being turned into a playground for billionaires, displacing locals and limiting access to public areas. They describe this trend as a form of exploitation and loss of civic space.
Activist Alice Bazzoli, from the group "No Space for Bezos," told Sky News that the Amazon founder is treating the entire city like a private event hall. The group is a coalition of local campaigners, environmentalists, and housing advocates. They argue that high-profile events worsen issues like overcrowding, environmental harm, and public exclusion.
Their efforts may already be influencing change, with reports that Bezos shifted his wedding venue following public outcry. The group, carrying inflatable crocodiles as symbols of protest, claims this as a small victory in their campaign to preserve Venice's identity.
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Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Newlyweds Bezos and Sanchez gear up for final party at Venice gala
Kim Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian travel on a boat, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and Tom Brady leave Gritti Palace, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri Oprah Winfrey leaves Gritti Palace, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri Kris Jenner and Corey Gamble leave Gritti Palace Hotel, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos and Media Personality Lauren Sanchez Bezos react on the day of their wedding in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025 in this picture obtained from social media. @laurensanchezbezos via Instagram/via REUTERS Newlyweds Bezos and Sanchez gear up for final party at Venice gala VENICE - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, flush from their Venice wedding ceremony on Friday, are gearing up for the final day of partying in the lagoon city with scores of celebrity guests from media, fashion and show business. The three-day gala, estimated to cost some $50 million, will culminate on Saturday evening with the closing party in a former medieval shipyard where Lady Gaga and Elton John are expected to perform. Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, exchanged rings on Friday evening on the small island of San Giorgio, across the water from Saint Mark's Square, accompanied by singing from Matteo Bocelli, son of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The bride at the ceremony wore a high-necked silhouette dress and a tulle and lace veil by Dolce and Gabbana, which she told magazine Vogue was based on Sophia Loren's dress to marry Cary Grant in the 1958 film Houseboat. Sanchez was also wearing a pair of diamond earrings by Dolce & Gabbana, which, according to Vogue, were lent to her in keeping with the tradition that it brings good luck for a bride to wear something borrowed. Bezos, who is No. 4 on Forbes' global billionaires list, donned a black tuxedo and bow tie over a white shirt. The ceremony had no legal status under Italian law, a senior city hall official told Reuters, suggesting the couple may have already legally wed in the United States, avoiding the bureaucracy associated with an Italian marriage. Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, Jordan's Queen Rania, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian, as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner and Domenico Dolce from Dolce & Gabbana were among the 200-250 guests. PROTEST SCHEDULED While the celebrities rub shoulders in the isolated halls in the east of the city, not far away activists will be protesting at what they see as Venice being gift-wrapped for ultra-rich outsiders. A protest march is planned at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Saturday from the railway station to the Rialto Bridge. For days, members of the "No Space for Bezos" movement have been trying to spoil the party, hanging anti-Bezos banners on the iconic Rialto Bridge and laying out a huge canvas in central Saint Mark's Square telling the tech-tycoon to pay more taxes. While some residents and activists see Bezos's extravaganza as a symbol of inequality and arrogance, Venice's businesses and the city authorities have welcomed the event, claiming a major boost for the local economy. "Those who protest are in contradiction with the history of Venice, which is a history of relations, contacts and business," the city's mayor Luigi Brugnaro told Reuters in an interview. "Bezos embodies the Venetian mentality, he is more Venetian than the protesters," said centre-right mayor, adding that he hoped Bezos, who donated 3 million euros ($3.51 million) to local institutions, would return to the city to do business. Brugnaro said Bezos had attached no conditions to holding his wedding celebrations in Venice, and City Hall had only learned about his donations after they had already been made. Bezos, Amazon's executive chair, got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after the collapse of his 25-year marriage to MacKenzie Scott. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
International Business Times
5 hours ago
- International Business Times
Venice Protests Jeff Bezos' Wedding Amid Buzz Over Bizarre Mannequins
As Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez prepare for their extravagant wedding, Venice has unexpectedly become the backdrop for both celebration and controversy. Tourists are crowding around realistic mannequins of the couple placed across the city. One bizarre statue of Bezos, wrapped in fake dollar bills, has become a viral sensation. A towering sculpture of Bezos, over six feet tall and larger than life, now stands among the Venetian crowds. The statue, comically draped in counterfeit bills with his face printed on them, has sparked curiosity and laughter. Created by sculptors dressed as Amazon staff, the installation mixes art and satire, drawing attention from amused onlookers—and even curious pigeons, as TMZ noted. But these installations are more than quirky photo ops. Many of them, eerily lifelike, are seen as protest symbols. Critics argue the wedding, with its celebrity guest list, could intensify space issues in a city already overcrowded during peak tourist season. Luxury and excess appear central to the festivities, with reports suggesting Sanchez may wear over $30 million worth of jewelry. Meanwhile, celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Tom Brady, and Leonardo DiCaprio are expected to attend, raising concerns among Venetians who say the city is being turned into a private playground for the wealthy. Local activists insist their issue is not with the marriage itself, but with what it represents. They say Venice is slowly being turned into a playground for billionaires, displacing locals and limiting access to public areas. They describe this trend as a form of exploitation and loss of civic space. Activist Alice Bazzoli, from the group "No Space for Bezos," told Sky News that the Amazon founder is treating the entire city like a private event hall. The group is a coalition of local campaigners, environmentalists, and housing advocates. They argue that high-profile events worsen issues like overcrowding, environmental harm, and public exclusion. Their efforts may already be influencing change, with reports that Bezos shifted his wedding venue following public outcry. The group, carrying inflatable crocodiles as symbols of protest, claims this as a small victory in their campaign to preserve Venice's identity.
AsiaOne
11 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Bezos and Sanchez head to wedding ceremony in star-studded Venice, World News
VENICE - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez left their luxury hotel on Venice's Grand Canal on Friday (June 27) to head to their wedding ceremony, the centrepiece of a three-day gala featuring dozens of stars but also protests by local activists. Sanchez, 55, waved and blew kisses to onlookers as she boarded a sleek motor boat outside the Aman hotel wearing short-sleeved, cream, fitted skirt suit, with shades and a head scarf to protect her from the blistering summer sun. Around two hours later Bezos, 61, wearing a black tuxedo and bow tie over a white shirt, made the same short trip across the lagoon to the small island of San Giorgio where the couple will exchange rings, accompanied by singing from Matteo Bocelli, son of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The evening ceremony will have no legal status under Italian law, a senior city hall official told Reuters, suggesting the couple may have already legally wed in the United States, avoiding the bureaucracy associated with an Italian marriage. The festivities, estimated to cost around $50 million (S$63 million), culminate on Saturday with a party in a former medieval shipyard where media outlets say Lady Gaga and Elton John are set to perform. Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, the queen of Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner and Domenico Dolce from Dolce & Gabbana are among the 200-250 guests. Amid tight security, there have been glimpses of the celebrities moving around town, the women in summer dresses and high heels stepping somewhat gingerly off boats ferrying them around the city's canals. Celebrations began on Thursday evening in the cloisters of Madonna dell'Orto, a medieval church in the central district of Cannaregio that hosts masterpieces by 16th-century painter Tintoretto. "This magical place has gifted us unforgettable memories," the bride and groom said on their wedding invitation, in which they asked for "no gifts" and pledged charity donations for three Venetian institutions. Their donations are worth 3 million euros (S$4.4 million). Protest movement Businesses have welcomed the glitz and glamour but it is opposed by a local protest movement whose members resent what they see as Venice being gift-wrapped for ultra-rich outsiders. Bezos is No 4 on Forbes' global billionaires list. Giulia Cacopardo, a 28-year-old representative of the "No Space for Bezos" movement, complained that the needs of ordinary people were being neglected in a city that is a tourist magnet and fast depopulating largely due to the soaring cost of living. [[nid:719535]] Venice's city centre has less than 50,000 residents, compared to almost 100,000 in the late 1970s. "When you empty a city of its inhabitants, you can turn it into a stage for big events," Cacopardo told Reuters. "(But) the money that Bezos spends on this wedding does not end up in the pockets of Venetians. The owners of luxury hotels are not Venetians." Cacopardo was one of 30-40 activists who staged a protest in St Mark's Square on Thursday, chanting "We are the 99 per cent" as a masked couple posed as bride and groom and one man climbed a pole to unfurl a banner reading "The 1 per cent ruins the world". Police intervened, forcibly removing the protesters. The anti-Bezos front is planning a march on Saturday, and their activities have already led authorities to step up security and move the location of the closing party to a more secluded part of Venice, the Arsenale former shipyard. Charlotte Perkins, an Australian tourist, said she could understand the locals' resentment at their city being treated as a celebrity playground. "I'd probably feel the same if I lived here," she said. But politicians, hoteliers and some other Venice residents are happy about the wedding, saying such events do more to support the local economy than the multitudes of day-trippers who normally overrun the city. "We are happy and honoured to welcome Jeff Bezos and his consort Lauren Sanchez," said Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who sent white roses to the bride and a maxi-bottle of Amarone luxury red wine to the groom. A study by Italy's tourism ministry estimated the overall economic impact of the wedding at 957 million euros, with an 896 million euro boost from "media visibility", and the rest coming from direct or indirect spending related to the event. Bezos, Amazon's executive chair, got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after the collapse of his 25-year marriage to MacKenzie Scott.
