Protesters in Venice are claiming an "enormous victory" after US tech billionaire Jeff Bezos and his wedding guests were forced to relocate their main celebration away from the city centre.
The venues for Bezos' lavish three-day wedding to TV presenter Lauren Sanchez were never officially disclosed. However, the celebrations were expected to culminate with a grand event on Saturday at the historic Scuola Grande della Misericordia.
A local official has now confirmed to the BBC that the festivities will instead take place at the Arsenale, further from the city centre.
Activists are celebrating what they see as a triumph, even as city officials dismissed their protests as "ridiculous."
"We're extremely proud of this! We are ordinary citizens with no money or power," Tommaso Cacciari from the group *No Space for Bezos* told the BBC. "Yet we managed to push one of the world's most powerful people and all the billionaires out of the city."
The wedding, set to begin later this week, has a star-studded guest list rumoured to include Kim Kardashian, Mick Jagger, Leonardo DiCaprio, and members of the Trump family. Private jets are expected to flood Venice airport, yachts will fill the harbour, and five hotels have reportedly been booked out entirely. Security is being provided by former US Marines.
The extravagant event has drawn criticism from various groups, including locals protesting over-tourism, climate activists, and those opposing Bezos' ties to Donald Trump. In recent days, posters reading No Space for Bezos have appeared across the city, and protest banners have been hung from bridges.
On Monday, activists from a group called Everyone Hates Elon unveiled a giant image of Bezos in Piazza San Marco with the slogan: "If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax."
"Our protest isn't about the wedding itself – it's about what it represents," Greenpeace campaigner Simona Abbate told the BBC. "This isn’t just about two people getting married. It’s about a lifestyle of excess that fuels the climate crisis, while ordinary people pay the price."
City officials, however, have defended the event, calling the protesters a "tiny minority" unrepresentative of Venice.
"These activists act as if they own Venice, but they don't," said Simone Venturini, city councillor for economic development. "This event involves just 200 carefully selected guests and will bring significant economic benefits. All activities are hosted in privately-owned venues."
Still, concerns over over-tourism remain serious. Like much of southern Europe, Venice faces rising tensions over locals being priced out, and the city itself is increasingly vulnerable to flooding driven by climate change.
Authorities recently introduced a five-euro daily tourist tax, but activists argue it has done little to curb visitor numbers.
Some activists had planned to disrupt the wedding by launching themselves into canals with inflatable alligators to block the guests' path. That "wet protest" has since been cancelled, but No Space for Bezos still intends to project messages onto city buildings and stage a march on Saturday evening.
"Bezos comes to Venice only for the party," Cacciari said. "That's the problem – this vision of Venice as a theme park where billionaires can hire parts of the city for private events. It sends the message that the whole city is just a backdrop for the rich."
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