The lavish wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and book author and helicopter pilot, Lauren Sánchez, is expected to take place next week in Venice. Most reports say the event will host 200 guests and last three days, from June 24 to June 26, though the couple has not confirmed.
But Venice residents have been protesting against overcrowding and mass tourism, something that they say is negatively affecting the small (the main island is about 2 square miles) city that receives about 20 million visitors yearly. The overcrowding has become so bad that the city charges a 5 Euro daily entrance fee on some high-season dates. (It’s also not just Venice — in Spain, tourists are being shot with water guns on crowded streets.)
And now the Bezos-Sánchez wedding is in the crosshairs.
People gather to protest against the wedding of Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez in Venice on June 13, 2025. ANDREA PATTARO/AFP | Getty Images
For the past few days leading up to the wedding, protesters have been making signs and chanting, “No space for Bezos,” in an obvious play on words regarding the space company Bezos founded, Blue Origin.
However, the AP reports that, despite the protests, the betrothed have used local vendors for about 80% of the provisions, and the businesses they spoke to were happy about the extra orders.
The 6th-generation owner of Rosa Salva, a bakery that has been making pastries since 1876, told the AP that his business made a selection of items for the goody bags for the wedding and was happy to see the city in the national spotlight.
“Events like this bring quality tourism to Venice,” he said. “I don’t see how an event with 200 people can create disruptions. It’s responsible tourism. It’s prestigious that a couple like this, who can go anywhere in the world, are getting married in the city.”
The mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, is also excited for the event.
Brugnaro told the AP this week that it was “an honor” that Bezos and Sánchez chose Venice.
“Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage,” he said.
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