VENICE — Gondolas may glide as usual through the canals of Venice next week, but they’ll do so under the watchful eye of protesters determined to make their voices heard.
A loose coalition of Venetian activists is preparing a series of demonstrations aimed at disrupting the wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sánchez. The ceremony, said to span several days and close off parts of the city, has become a flashpoint in an ongoing struggle over who Venice is really for its residents or the global elite.
“Venice is being treated like a stage,” said Federica Toninelli, a local campaigner with the protest group No Space for Bezos. “This wedding is the symbol of how our city is being sold off.”
Bezos, 61, is worth over $220 billion, making him the world’s third richest man. His reported six-day wedding celebration, from 23 to 28 June, is expected to take over the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, directly across from the iconic St Mark’s Square.
Italian media report that most luxury hotels and water taxis have already been reserved for guests a list rumoured to include celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, and members of the Trump family. Some guests are expected to stay aboard Bezos’ superyachts, Koru and Abeona.
But not everyone is rolling out the red carpet.
On Thursday, banners bearing slogans like “No Space for Bezos” appeared across the city, including on the Rialto Bridge and from the bell tower of San Giorgio Maggiore. The group behind the protest says this is just the beginning.
They plan peaceful but pointed disruption: blocking narrow streets known as calli, jumping into canals to delay wedding water taxis, and encouraging others to speak out against what they see as the city’s sellout to wealth.
“These protests are about more than just Bezos,” Toninelli told The New York Times. “They’re about housing, cruise ships, and the right of Venetians to live in their own city.”
Venice’s population has dropped to fewer than 49,000 residents, down from 175,000 in 1950. Many blame the city’s dependence on mass tourism. With local flats turned into short-term rentals, more residents are leaving each year. In 2023, the number of tourists finally overtook the number of people living in the city.
Last year, the city introduced a fee for day-trippers in an attempt to manage overcrowding. But critics argue it’s a cosmetic fix, not a long-term solution.
“We’re not against visitors,” Toninelli clarified. “We travel too. But Venice can’t be run like a luxury showroom.”
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, known for his business-friendly stance, has dismissed the protests as embarrassing.
“I’m ashamed,” he told reporters. “What other city would form a committee to oppose the wedding of such an important person?”
He added, “I hope Bezos doesn’t reconsider.”
Local business owners appear divided. While some welcome the economic boost from such a high-profile event, others echo concerns that the city’s identity is being eroded.
“This kind of event brings work,” said Setrak Tokatzian, who heads a shopkeepers’ association in St Mark’s. “Without it, we’re left with budget tourism.”
Still, activists believe the glitz surrounding Bezos’s wedding has thrown a harsh light on deeper, systemic problems.
“Venice needs a future beyond tourism,” said Toninelli. “We must imagine a city where residents come first not billionaire parties.”
Bezos’s wedding is not the first celebrity affair to grace Venice. In 2014, actor George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin in an equally lavish celebration. That event passed largely without protest. But times have changed.
Now, activists see Bezos not just as a groom but as a symbol of economic disparity, environmental neglect, and a city pushed to the brink.
And next week, they plan to say so loud and clear.
