Bezos wedding celebrations met with protests in Venice

Telegraph

2 days ago

Hundreds of protesters marched through the narrow streets of Venice on Saturday to protest against the three-day wedding of billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez.
Letting off smoke flares, blaring loud music and chanting 'Bezos out of the lagoon', they marched from Venice's railway station to the Rialto Bridge, which spans the Grand Canal.
They carried placards which read 'Money Can't Buy Style', 'F--- Capitalism' and 'No Space for Bezos' – a play on the Amazon founder's Blue Origin space venture and his new wife's recent space flight.
The estimated 500 marchers were shadowed by a small phalanx of riot police equipped with batons, helmets and shields.
The noisy demonstration came as Mr Bezos, his new wife and their celebrity guests prepared to take water taxis from their luxury hotels to the Venetian Arsenal, the city's historic shipbuilding complex, for a final wedding celebration – a culmination of the three-day nuptials that have divided the city.
'Bezos is acting like he's king of the world'
Some have hailed the economic impact of the event and the attention it has brought. But activists accused Mr Bezos, the third wealthiest person in the world, of treating Venice as a rich man's playground, a picturesque backdrop to a wedding believed to have cost between 40 and 50 million euros.
The demonstrators are furious about the security arrangements and the fact that some parts of the city have been closed off to the public to allow access for Mr Bezos and his 250 guests, who include Ivanka Trump, Queen Rania of Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio and the Kardashians.
'Our message is that everyone is welcome in Venice but not people who create disruption like he has done,' said Oliveiro Cassala, a 43-year-old protester who works in a hotel in Venice.
'He came to Venice acting as if he was king of the world. He thinks he can pay money and do whatever he likes. But we are proud people in Venice, and we don't like it.'
He carried a placard which said that Mr Bezos' donation of three million euros to Venetian causes, from education to the environment, was paltry.
'With an estimated net worth of $230 billion, this donation represents 0.0013 per cent of his wealth,' he said. 'It's as if he had left a tip of three euros. Money does not buy respect, and Venice deserves much more.'
Other placards with messages that read 'Free Palestine' and 'Stop Bombing Iran' were paraded down the streets past groups of tourists enjoying the evening sunshine and sipping Aperol Spritz cocktails.
Elena Dal Toso, 80, said police had blocked her from walking from her home to a hospital clinic on Thursday evening, when Mr Bezos hosted a gala dinner in the cloister of a historic church called La Madonna dell'Orto
'They told me I couldn't pass – in my own city. It's fine to come here and get married, plenty of people do it, but not to cause this kind of inconvenience,' she said. 'We already have enough problems, like lack of housing and too much dependence on tourism. I feel like the city has been taken over these past few days.'
Alice Bazzoli, another activist, said Venice had been 'exploited' by Mr Bezos and his wealthy friends, with mega-yachts moored in the lagoon, private jets landing at Marco Polo airport, and some parts of the city cordoned off.
'Protestors don't represent the majority'
Police officers and Italian soldiers guarded narrow alleyways to Venice's centuries-old Jewish Ghetto to block any pro-Palestinian protesters from veering off the main route of the march.
There were more police on standby in blue and white motor launches and on jet skis, deployed to surrounding canals.
But many Venetians have welcomed the Bezos wedding, saying it would bring huge economic benefits to Venice.
'These protesters don't represent the majority,' said Matteo, who runs a trattoria near the Venetian Arsenal, the venue for Saturday night's celebrations. 'I think it's good that he came here. He's so rich, he could have chosen anywhere in the world. He could have gone to New York or St Tropez or Fiji. But he chose Venice. That says something about what a special place it is.'
As wedding guests, including Bill Gates, Orlando Bloom and Oprah Winfrey, headed to the Venetian Arsenal, amid unconfirmed rumours that they would be serenaded by Sir Elton John and Lady Gaga, it remained a mystery as to who would actually provide the evening's entertainment.
The menu was to consist of specialities from the Veneto region, including baccalà, or salt cod, and tiramisù.
Paparazzi faced a stiff challenge in trying to access the venue – the Venetian Arsenal is surrounded by high crenellated walls and there are just a few entrances, all of them by boat.
It evolved over the centuries as a place to construct merchant vessels and warships, built to fend off pirates, commercial rivals and marauding Turkish fleets.
'This won't change anything'
Among those who welcomed the presence of Mr Bezos and his high-profile guests was the owner of the legendary Harry's Bar, famous for hosting generations of celebrities, on the banks of the Grand Canal.
Mr Bezos and his new bride dropped into the bar on Saturday afternoon, the day after they had exchanged vows on the tiny island of San Giorgio.
The Amazon founder is 'a private individual who has come here to get married. I can't see any problem with that. Venice is Venice and this event won't change anything,' Arrigo Cipriani, the owner of Harry's told the newspaper Corriere della Sera.
He said only a tiny minority of the city's 48,000 inhabitants were upset, adding: 'And I'd like to know if there is a single person among them who has not bought something on Amazon.'
Luigi Brugnaro, the pro-business, centre-Right mayor of Venice, lobbied for the wedding celebrations to be held in the city.
'I understand the protests that have been organised by students – we were all young once. They are idealists and they want to organise these striking actions, especially when there is a chance of attracting lots of media attention. I don't agree with them but I understand their motivations. I was also a rabble rouser when I was young.'
But he said it was unfair to criticise the security measures that were put in place, given the international situation and the profile of the wedding guests.
He accused Left-wing opposition councillors of trying to exploit the wedding for political ends.
'It is not normal that they criticise the number of police on the ground when, until a few days ago, we risked a world war breaking out and we have here in the city the daughter of the president of the United States.'
He rejected criticism that the soul of Venice was being eroded by mass tourism, the proliferation of Airbnb properties and population decline, saying: 'The problem is that around 300 to 400 Venetians die each year and not enough babies are being born. This is affecting the whole of Italy, not just Venice.'