Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez got married on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore on Friday. The three-day celebration, to which prominent guests such as Oprah Winfrey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bill Gates and members of the Kardashian family were invited, is estimated to have cost around 50 million US dollars. The event was met with fierce resistance in large parts of the city: between 700 and 1,000 demonstrators marched through central streets with banners, smoke bombs and loud slogans such as "No Space for Bezos" to protest against the social and ecological luxury in the lagoon city.
In view of the protests, the main party venue was moved at short notice from the more public Scuola Grande della Misericordia to the more secluded Arsenale. A glamorous masquerade and after-party will take place there on Saturday evening with performances by international artists such as Lady Gaga and Elton John. The guests - including Oprah Winfrey, Ivanka Trump and Tom Brady - were transported by water cab between luxury hotels such as the Aman, the Gritti Palace and the Belmond Cipriani.
The protest movement criticized the increasing commercialization of the city as well as the congestion and environmental pollution caused by the event, especially as the infrastructure and public spaces for local residents were restricted. Activists staged symbolic actions: For example, a Bezos doll with cash in hand was floated across the Grand Canal on an Amazon crate and political slogans were projected.
The city council defends the festival as an important boost for local tourism. In addition, Bezos himself is said to have donated around three million euros, including to research projects on the lagoon. 80 percent of the services are said to have come from local businesses.
