It looks like Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez may have picked the wrong time in history to throw their lavish dream wedding in Venice, with their image-conscious, A-list guests potentially having to pass through a gauntlet of anti-oligarch protesters to get to the ceremony in the ancient Italian city.
Last Friday, Venetians representing various local groups gathered on the famous Rialto Bridge, spanning the Grand Canal, and unfurled a “No Space for Bezos!” banner, the New York Times reported. They vowed to organize a series of protests on the days in late June when hundreds of guests are expected to descend on the lagoon city for a dayslong extravaganza, celebrating the nuptials of the billionaire Amazon founder and his former TV journalist fiancée. Potential celebrity guests include Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry, Gayle King, Eva Longoria and Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump.
“Bezos will never get to the Misericordia,” one protest organizer, Federica Toninello, told others at the Rialto Bridge gathering, the New York Times reported. The Misericordia, a former charity hall turned events space, is considered to be a potential venue for the ceremony or a related party. To loud applause, Toninello said: “We have to block Bezos. … We will line the streets with our bodies, block the canals with lifesavers, dinghies and our boats.”
A ‘No Jeff Bezos wedding’ protest poster is attached on a wall in Venice, Italy, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Toninello and other organizers are trying to whip up resistance to the latest massive event that they say has turned their hometown and world heritage site — which has long suffered from the effects of excessive tourism — into a playground for the rich, The Guardian also reported.
They object to municipal leaders allowing massively wealthy people like Bezos and Sanchez to bring Venice “to a standstill” by taking over certain parts of the city, rendering neighborhoods and landmarks “inaccessible” to regular people and to thousands of regular tourists visiting daily at this time of year. Locals also expressed concern about the disruptions to people’s daily lives due to the need to provide security for top-tier guests, and they even blame rising housing costs and a dwindling resident population on the influx of ultra-wealthy people.
“This wedding really is the symbol of all that is wrong with Venice,” teacher Marta Sottoriva told The Guardian. Another protester, Na Haby Stella Faye, was quoted by the New York Times saying: “Let’s make sure that Venice is not remembered as a postcard venue where Bezos had his wedding but as the city that did not bend to oligarchs. We have a chance to disrupt a $10 million wedding — let’s do it.”
The exact date of the wedding and related events are top secret, further fueling local frustrations. It’s believed that the parties are expected to start June 24, although some say the wedding itself won’t be held until June 28, The Guardian reported.
While the guest list has not been made public, TMZ and other outlets have reported that it includes Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner and Eva Longoria, all members of Sanchez’s “Bride Tribe,” as The Cut also said. Meanwhile, TMZ also reported that Donald Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, were invited, as were Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King.
The possible presence of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner may not “bode well” for some organizers, The Guardian reported. It serves as a reminder that Bezos and Sanchez showed their embrace of Trump’s leadership by standing with him, his family and other tech billionaires at his inauguration in January, offering a display of “oligarchy” and the powerful influence they expect to wield in Trump’s America, as The Guardian reported in January.
Meanwhile, Perry and King joined Sanchez on what turned out to be a much-maligned April 14 space ride aboard one of Bezos’ Blue Origin rockets. While the space ride was billed as an exercise in female empowerment and scientific exploration, it lasted only about 11 minutes and was widely excoriated as just a luxury space-tourism “PR stunt” on behalf of Bezos and Sanchez. The space ride also has become a target of mockery for Venetians, inspiring their “No space for Bezos” campaign.
It’s been reported that the extravaganza could cost anywhere from $11 million to $24 million, the New York Times said. Part of that cost reportedly involves taking a fleet of water taxis out of circulation during peak tourist season.
City hall officials have tried to defend the Bezos-Sanchez wedding taking place in Venice, especially because of the riches they say it will bring to the city, the New York Times and The Guardian reported. They argue that Venice is experienced in hosting major events, including some 600 weddings each year, and insist that locals won’t be inconvenienced.
But their political rivals say the wedding won’t benefit ordinary Venetians in the slightest, The Guardian reported. Giovanni Andrea Martini, a councillor for the opposition, said that Bezos, the third richest person in the world, should at least consider making up for the disruption his wedding will cause by donating money towards restoring some 1,000 homes that have been abandoned in the city.
