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In this case6:26The Venetians plan to swim in the canals to disturb the marriage of Jeff Bezos
When the third richest man in the world makes the knot in Venice this week, Federica Toninello plans to be just outside, swimming in the channel.
Toninello is one of the hundreds of demonstrators who do everything they can to disrupt the sumptuous sumptination of the founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos in Venice, an Italian city which, according to activists
While around 200 high -level guests arrive in Venice, reserving huge strips of luxury hotel rooms and water taxis, the demonstrators intend to block the streets and the navigable lanes near the so -called wedding place.
“We are going to put our body in the Venice canals,” said Toninello In this case Nile Kӧksal host. “There will also be boats. Anything can float, we will use it.”
Bezos ‘represents the future that we do not want’
Bezos, 61, will marry the former presenter of Nouvelles Lauren Sanchez, 55, this week after having started in 2023.
The couple did not publish details on the event, but the local media report that there will be three days of festivities across the city, probably from June 26 to 28.
The New York TimesQuoting unconfirmed reports in Italian newspapers, identifies probable wedding events like Lido Beach, where the Venice Film Festival takes place; The whole island of San Giorgio, which is generally a public space; And the Scuola Grande Della Misericordia, a building and restored Renaissance event space.
The latter is the place where activists believe that the pair will say their wishes – and this is where Toninello plans to splash it, literally.
While the mayor of Venice and some business owners welcomed marriage as a source of income for the city, other Venetians clearly indicate that the couple is not welcome by going beyond massive banners in public areas and placing the city with anti-Bezos posters.
Toninello is with the protest group No Space for Bezos, a collaboration of a dozen Venetian organizations, including housing defenders, militant ships and militant students.
The name of the group is reference to the Bezos spatial technology company, Blue Origin, which recently launched a rocket with an entirely female team which included the future bride.
Toninello says that the main objective of the group is to draw attention to the effects of over-tourism in Venice, which, according to her, has increased the costs of housing and forced Venetian residents to pack and leave.
They call on the government to invest in education, environmental protections and affordable housing to rebuild the decline in the local population.
“Tourism is not something that brings wealth to people. It is something that only makes wealth for a few people, and most of the time, these people do not live in Venice either,” said Toninello.
But she says they also protest Bezos, himself. She accused the billionaire of having paid less than his fair share of taxes and of becoming rich in the back of workers.
“It represents the future in which we do not want to live,” she said.
Bezos did not respond to a request for comments.
Before marriage, he gave Corila’s charity, a Venetian Environmental Research Association, through his philanthropic organization, the Bezos Earth Fund
Corila would not say how much Bezos donated, but contacts started in April, long before the demonstrations start.
Companies, politicians welcome the couple
The Greenpeace environmental group also protests marriage.
Activists of Greenpeace Italy and the British group “everyone hates Elon” – referring to the owner of Tesla and former American president Donald Trump, Elon Musk – unfolded a giant banner in the center of Central Saint Marc with a photo of Bezos laughing and a sign of reading: “If you can rent Venice for your marriage, you can pay more tax.”
“The problem is not marriage, the problem is the system,” the abbot of Simona told Reuters, one of the demonstrators. “We believe that a large billionaire cannot rent a city for its pleasure.”
But not everyone is opposed to the extravagance of several million dollars.
Antonio Rosa Salva, whose pastry sector is one of the many local sellers who provide marriage, said events like this brought “quality tourism” to the city.
“I do not see how an event with 200 people can create disturbances,” said Salva. “It is responsible tourism. It is prestigious that a couple like this, who can go anywhere in the world, get married in the city.”
Regional governor Luca Zaia said marriage will bring an economic windfall to local businesses, including motor boats and gondolas that exploit its canal myriads. He said celebrations should cost 20 to 30 million euros (31 to 47 million CDN dollars).
The mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, castigated the demonstrators while addressing journalists in Venice on Friday, According to CNN.
“We will have to apologize to Bezos,” said the mayor. “I am ashamed of those who behave like that. I hope Bezos comes anyway. Not all Venetians think like these demonstrators.”
Toninello fell into the mayor’s comments.
“He who should be ashamed is him,” she said. “The way the city is right now is because of it.”
With Reuters and Associated Press files. Interview with Federica Toninello produced by Chris Harbord
