Protesters in Venice have won a victory–at least a symbolic one–as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was forced to move the venue for his Venice wedding from Scuola Grande della Misericordia to Arsenale. The decision comes after guests started arriving in Venice on Tuesday for the business mogul’s wedding to Lauren Sánchez, a former TV journalist.
The “No Space for Bezos” campaign began in Venice in early June, and the couple finally yielded to the movement as activists threatened to fill the canals with inflatable crocodiles to prevent the couple’s celebrity guests from entering the city. The original venue, Scuola Grande della Misericordia, is a historic 16th-century building located in the city centre. The newly chosen venue, Arsenale, is a complex of former shipyards, surrounded by fortified walls, making it much harder for any potential protestors to access the event. The two spaces are about 28 minutes from each other, with Arsenale situated on the eastern edge of the historic city center.
The protests against Jeff Bezos and the injustices his lavish lifestyle creates have gained traction across Europe. Both Greenpeace Italia and the British group, Everyone Hates Elon, have spoken out. Greenpeace weighed in on the controversial event, stating, “Bezos embodies an economic and social model that is leading us towards collapse. The lifestyles fuelled by the arrogance of a few billionaires are devastating for the planet.” 95 private planes are expected to land at the city’s airport, private yachts are taking over the harbor, and five hotels have been booked out entirely for the couple’s celebrity guests.
Greenpeace campaigner Simona Abbate told the BBC, “This isn’t just a celebration of two people getting married, it’s a display of a lifestyle that’s simply unsustainable. The richest live in excess, while others endure the consequences of a climate emergency they didn’t create.”
In addition to climate change concerns associated with such an event, protesters in Venice worry that the event risks turning Venice, a world heritage site, into a playground for the rich. These concerns are heightened as Venice is already struggling to combat the effects of mass tourism.
The No Space for Bezos protesters plan to host a march in a final show of protest on Saturday, the day the wedding reception is expected to be held. The march calls for “No War, No Bezos.”
