Protesters displayed a sign that read "No Space for Bezos!" on the Rialto Bridge ahead of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's coming wedding.
Manuel Silvestri/REUTERS
Venetians are protesting against Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's upcoming wedding.
The wedding is expected to take place this week and will have around 200 guests.
Protesters cited concerns about overtourism in Venice, which gets 20 million visitors annually.
Venice is widely considered one of the world's most romantic cities, but some residents have found at least one wedding they're not celebrating.
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez are expected to tie the knot in Venice this week, with an estimated guest list of 200 — that's sure to include A-listers and fellow billionaires.
A group of Venetians protested the upcoming nuptials earlier this month, citing concerns that the lavish event will not benefit local residents and will add to overtourism concerns that are already plaguing the historic city.
The island that makes up the city center, famous for its winding canals and gondola rides, is around 2 square miles. It is home to some 50,000 residents but welcomes 20 million tourists each year.
Photos showed protesters gathering in a Venetian town square and along the iconic Rialto Bridge with signs that read "No space for Bezos" with an image of a rocket ship, a nod to his rocket company, Blue Origin.
When reached for comment, a representative for Bezos and Sánchez pointed to a statement released last week by Lanza and Baucina, the event planner coordinating the wedding.
"Rumours of 'taking over' the city are entirely false and diametrically opposed to our goals and to reality," the statement said. "Before the recent news of protests arose, we had worked for there to be minimal negative impact or disruption to the lives of Venetians and the city's visitors."
Venice officials have said they welcome the wedding
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Venice officials have confirmed the Amazon founder will be getting married in the city, saying the celebrations were expected to include some 200 guests. The events are expected to take place this week, though reports have suggested different dates.
The guest list is expected to include plenty of A-listers
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Details about the wedding have been scarce, but if attendees at the couple's two engagement parties or Sánchez's bachelorette in Paris are any indication, the guest list could include celebrities such as Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian, and Bill Gates.
Protesters said they wanted to discourage the idea of Venice as a tourist haven
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Federica Toninello, an organizer of the protest, told demonstrators that they wanted to discourage the idea of Venice as a haven for tourists and cited the rising costs of living in the city, The New York Times reported.
She also said during the demonstration that the group has heard the wedding could be taking place at The Misericordia, a cultural and event center, and that if it does, they will try to block wedding attendees from reaching it.
"We will line the streets with our bodies, block the canals with lifesavers, dinghies, and our boats," she told the crowd.
Venice officials said they do not expect the event to cause significant disruptions
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Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has said the city welcomes the wedding and is committed to ensuring it does not disrupt daily life for Venetians.
The city has also said that the 200 expected guests are well within Venice's ability to host and on par with other weddings and events hosted in the city throughout the year.
Sources close to Bezos and Sanchez told The Associated Press that the couple is sourcing around 80% of their wedding provisions from local vendors to show their appreciation for Venice.
Overtourism is a major concern in Venice
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Though the city has said it is not concerned about the impact of Bezos's wedding, Venice has taken measures to address overtourism in recent years. The city introduced cruise ship size limits in 2021 and last year enacted an entrance fee for day-trippers during the busy season.
Alan Fyall, the Visit Orlando endowed chair of tourism marketing at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management, said Italy has long been a popular luxury wedding destination for Americans, and that the reported size of Bezos' wedding suggests it would not be a significant disruption.
But he said the protests demonstrate how high frustrations with overtourism in Venice have gotten.
"It all comes back to the bigger problem," he added.
Protesters said they are planning more demonstrations during the wedding events
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Protesters have said they will try to disrupt the wedding events, which are expected to take place over several days this week.
The protests continued going into the wedding weekGreenpeace protesters placed an anti-Bezos message in St. Mark's Square.
Yara Nardi/REUTERS
More protesters demonstrated in Venice on Monday at the start of the anticipated wedding week.
Greenpeace Italy activists unveiled a large sign in the historic St. Mark's Square that read, "If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax."
Do you have a tip or a story to share about Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@businessinsider.com.