Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez were forced to change their wedding venue at the last minute after widespread protests against the Amazon founder in Venice.
According to BBC, protestors in Venice have claimed an “enormous victory” after forcing one of the richest people in the world, Bezos, and his wedding guests to "run away" from the city centre.
As the guests for the three-day extravagant wedding celebrations began to arrive in Venice on Tuesday, Bezos was forced to change the venue after threatening to fill the canals with inflatable crocodiles to stop their celebrity from entering into the Italian city.
Tommaso Cacciari, from a group calling itself No Space for Bezos, told the BBC, “We are very proud of this! We are nobodies, we have no money, nothing! We're just citizens who started organising, and we managed to move one of the most powerful people in the world – all the billionaires – out of the city."
The group in an online campaign post celebrated their victory, saying, “We won! The protest managed to ruin Bezos’ plans and Mayor Brugnaro’s palace games. They were forced to flee and take refuge in Tese 91 of the Arsenale. Even Bezos’ two yachts, Koru and Abeona, will not arrive in Venice.”
The No Space for Bezos group hung a banner with Bezos's name crossed out on the main bell tower on the secluded island of San Giorgio Maggiore, where the couple was expected to marry, and a banner across the world-famous Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal.
A local official in the city confirmed to the BBC that the high-profile guest will now gather at the Arsenale, far from the city centre.
Notably, the main reception for the billionaire and a former TV journalist was due to be held in the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a majestic 16th-century building.
