ISLAMABAD: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist fiancée Lauren Sanchez arrived in Venice on Wednesday ahead of a lavish three-day wedding celebration that’s attracting global attention and sparking local protests.
The billionaire couple landed in the floating city as nearly 90 private jets were expected to fly in celebrities, politicians, and financiers from around the world, turning the romantic Venetian backdrop into what some residents call a “private amusement park for the rich.”
Grand Celebrations, Local Criticism
The festivities kicked off Thursday at the Madonna dell’Orto, a medieval church in Cannaregio.
Bezos and Sanchez are hosting a second grand party Friday on San Giorgio Island, facing St. Mark’s Square, with the final wedding bash planned for Saturday at the historic Arsenale, a medieval shipyard turned art space.
The celebration is expected to cost €40–48 million ($46–56 million).
Locals, however, are far from thrilled.
Activists have been protesting the exclusive nature of the event and its disruption to daily life.
“We who were born here have to either move to the mainland or ask permission to board a ferry,” lamented resident Nadia Rigo.
A Gesture of Giving
In a move to soften public sentiment, Bezos and Sanchez donated €3 million to three local institutions:
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CORILA (lagoon ecosystem research),
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UNESCO Venice Office,
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Venice International University.
Veneto’s governor, Luca Zaia, welcomed them and thanked them for the “extraordinary generosity.”
Tight Security, Secret Ceremony?
Privacy measures are tight.
A canopy was installed outside Aman Venice Hotel on the Grand Canal to shield high-profile guests from paparazzi.
While the wedding venue remains undisclosed, some speculate the couple may have already wed privately in the U.S.
Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, got engaged in 2023 after dating for four years.
Their Venetian wedding follows in the footsteps of other iconic celebrity unions in the city, such as George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin’s 2014 wedding.
