Venice (AFP) – Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are expected to tie the knot Friday at a sumptuous, secluded ceremony attended by celebrity friends on an island in Venice’s lagoon. The tech magnate, 61, and his fiancée, 55, kicked off a three-day wedding celebration Thursday with guests including Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey, and Orlando Bloom.
Venice, home to the oldest film festival in the world, is used to VIPs whizzing around in speed boats, and happily hosted the star-studded nuptials of Hollywood actor George Clooney in 2014. But Bezos — one of the world’s richest men and founder of a company regularly scrutinized for how it treats its workers — is different. The festivities have sparked protests from environmentalists and locals who accuse authorities of pandering to the super-rich while the city drowns under tourists.
Bezos and former news anchor and entertainment reporter Sanchez are staying at the Aman hotel, a luxury 16th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal with a view of the Rialto bridge. They will exchange vows at a black-tie ceremony on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, according to Italian media reports. The wedding itself is expected to take place in a vast open-air amphitheater on the island, which sits across from St Mark’s Square. The newlyweds will then be serenaded by Matteo Bocelli, the son of famed opera singer Andrea Bocelli, the reports said.
Sanchez is alleged to have prepared 27 outfits to wear during the festivities. Italian designer Domenico Dolce — half of the duo Dolce & Gabbana — was seen leaving the Aman hotel on Thursday, possibly following a fitting.
Wedding guests snapped by paparazzi as they hopped into boats included Jordan’s Queen Rania, US football player Tom Brady, American fashion designer Spencer Antle, singer Usher, and Ivanka Trump — the daughter of US President Donald Trump. The guests reportedly lunched together Thursday in the gardens of Villa Baslini, on the islet of San Giovanni Evangelista.
The celebrations are set to end Saturday with a party likely at the Arsenale, a vast shipyard complex dating back to when the city was a naval powerhouse. Bezos and Sanchez are donating three million euros ($3.5 million) to the city, according to Veneto’s regional president Luca Zaia, and are employing historic Venetian artisans. Venice’s oldest pastry maker, Rosa Salva, is baking 19th-century “fishermen’s biscuits” for party bags which will also contain something by Laguna B, renowned for its handblown Murano glass.
Trump and her family visited a glass-blowing workshop on the small island of Murano on Wednesday, according to the owner. “They were amazed and enchanted by the magic of glass,” Massimiliano Schiavon told the Corriere della Sera, adding that the family had had a go at blowing their own.
Some locals say the A-list guests and their entourages bring good business, but critics have accused billionaire Bezos of using the UNESCO site as his personal playground. Environmental activists have also pointed to the carbon footprint of the mega yachts and dozens of private jets bringing the rich and famous to the canal city. At least 95 private planes requested permission to land at Venice’s Marco Polo airport for the wedding, the Corriere della Sera said.
© 2024 AFP
