Bezos and Sanchez’s Venetian Wedding Sparks Protests Amidst Celebrity Excitement

Venice, Italy — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former news anchor Lauren Sanchez are set to wed this week in a lavish celebration that has drawn both excitement and protests. With the wedding expected to cost between $15 million and $20 million, the couple plans to host around 200 guests amid rising tensions among Venice locals.

The festivities, which are rumored to start on June 26, have attracted attention for their celebrity guest list, reportedly including A-listers like Kim Kardashian, Orlando Bloom, and members of the Trump family. Various reports indicate the couple has booked several luxury hotels in the city, including the Aman and Hotel Cipriani.

Local activists, however, are voicing their discontent, displaying signs reading “No Space for Bezos” across the city. Protesters argue that the wedding exemplifies the overwhelming tourist influx that Venice struggles to manage. Marta Sottoriva, a local campaigner, expressed concerns that the event symbolizes Venice being treated as a backdrop for the wealthy.

Jeff Bezos’s $500 million superyacht, Koru, is expected to play a central role in the wedding, and guests will likely be transported to and from the vessel using a fleet of water taxis. Local businesses are fully booked, and some gondolas are reportedly taken out of service for the events.

The couple is working with event planners Lanza and Baucina, who organized George Clooney‘s wedding in Venice, to ensure that local vendors supply most of the wedding needs. The couple aims for the event to be respectful and minimize disruption to the city, a goal reflected in their sourcing of around 80% of supplies from local providers.

This wedding is shaping up to be one of the most high-profile unions in recent history, with guests sworn to secrecy regarding details of the celebration. As protests loom, the couple remains tight-lipped, adding an air of mystery to what is being called the wedding of the century.