Residents of Venice protest against holding the wedding of an American billionaire in the city (3 photos)

Venetians are afraid of an influx of tourists, who are already making it hard to breathe.





Since mid-June, residents of Venice have been protesting against the grand wedding planned in the city of Amazon marketplace founder Jeff Bezos and former TV journalist Lauren Sanchez. According to media reports, city residents are afraid of an influx of tourists, and also advocate for the development of public services and housing instead of accepting VIPs.

It is noted that the wedding coincided with the peak season in Venice - tens of thousands of tourists visit the city every day. And now there will be even more. Bezos's celebration is expected to be attended by A-list celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ivanka Trump's family. In addition, the Venetians are not very happy with the possibility of "renting" their city. They believe that "no billionaire should be able to rent an entire city for their own needs."

In general, the activists are serious. They intend to block the canals with their presence, their boats and inflatable boats throughout the end of June. Now the protesters are trying to find out the route and location of the ceremony in order to prevent it, the media writes.



It is noted that the wedding of one of the richest people in the world will take place from June 26 to 28. According to some media outlets, Bezos will spend $48 million on the celebrations and “rent” several large popular tourist sites for several days.

Initially, the ceremony was supposed to take place in the city center — in the ancient building of the Venetian school Grande della Misericordia, but later the organizers abandoned this idea. Now the celebration will take place in the historic shipyard in the Arsenal district. The wedding location is due to the fact that it is easy to control, since a large influx of protesters is expected. Plus, the reason for the postponement was the growing tension between Iran and the United States — 80 kilometers from Venice, in the city of Aviano, there is a large American air base.