Written by Sarah Rossi and Alvis Armelini
Venice (Reuters) -Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez were appointed to exchange marriage promises at a party in Venice on Friday, which is part of the splendor of a three -day wedding that attracted dozens of celebrities but also protests from local activists.
Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, will exchange episodes on Saint Georgio, against St. Mark Square, accompanied by singing from Matteo Busielli, the son of the famous Italian Bubra, Andrea Bosselli.
A senior official in the city hall told Reuters, the celebration will not have any legal status under Italian law, indicating that the couple may have already married in the United States, and avoid the bureaucracy associated with Italian marriage.
The celebrations, which are estimated at about $ 50 million, are compatible on Saturday at a party in the previous Middle Ages, where Lady Gaga and Elton John are said to be to perform.
Bill Gates, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, Queen of Jordan, Opera Winfrey, Chris Jenner, Kim and Clawi Kardashian, as well as Ivanka Trump, Jarrid Kushner, Dominico Dolce from Dolce & Gabbana from 200 to 250 guests.
Amidst strict security, there were glimpses of celebrities who move all over the city, women in summer dresses and high heels wandering somewhat cautiously from the boats that transport them around the city’s channels.
The celebrations began Thursday evening in the feasibility of Madonna Delorto, a central church in the central region of Cannaregio hosting masterpieces through the sixteenth century painter Tintoretto.
The bride and the groom said in the invitation of their wedding, as they asked for “not gifts” and pledged charitable donations to three Venetian institutions: “This magic place gave us unforgettable memories.”
The value of their donations is 3 million euros ($ 3.5 million).
“Wrapped up” gun
Companies welcomed and magic, but are resisted by the local protest movement, whose members are ashamed of what they see that the rifle wrapped gifts for rich strangers. Bezos is No. 4 on the Forbes billionaire menu.
Julia Kakobardo, a 28 -year -old actress for the “lack of space for Bezos”, complained that the needs of ordinary people were neglected in a tourist magnet and falling very quickly due to the high cost of living. In the center of Venice, there is less than 50,000 people, compared to about 100,000 in the late 1970s.
“When the city of its residents empties, you can turn it into a stage of big events,” Cakobardo told Reuters. “(But) Bizos’s money on this wedding does not end in the pockets of Venice. Luxury hotels are not Venice.”
CacoPardo was one of 30 to 40 activists who organized a protest in Saint Mark Square on Thursday, where they chanted “we 99 %” as a convincing couple who was presented as a bride and groom and one man ascended to dismantle a banner to read “1 % Admirals of the world”.
The police intervened, and the demonstrators were removed by force.
The Bezos Control Front plans to march on Saturday, and its activities have already prompted the authorities to increase security and transfer the Saturday party to a more secluded part of the Venice, the former shipyard in Arsanal.
But politicians, hotel owners and other residents of Venice are happy with the wedding, saying that such events do what is more to support the local economy more than the crowds of clowns who usually exceed the city.
“We are happy and we are honored to welcome the Bezos Cream and his wife Lauren Sanchez,” Mayor Luigi Berginaro, who sent white roses to the bride and a luxurious red wine to the groom.
Italy’s Ministry of Tourism said it had conducted a study of about 957 million euros ($ 1.12 billion) the total economic impact of the wedding, including 896 million euros of “media vision”, and the rest of the direct or indirect spending related to the event.
Bizos, CEO of Amazon, was involved in Sanchez in 2023, four years after his 25 -year -old marriage to McKenzi Scott collapsed.
($ 1 = 0.8545 euros)
(Participated in additional reports from Yara Nardi, Ali Kokokoklkin and Cristiano Corvendoitic by Francis Kerry)
