Greenpeace joined a series of protests in Venice on Monday targeting the upcoming wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, unfurling a massive banner in St. Mark’s Square that read, “IF YOU CAN RENT VENICE FOR YOUR WEDDING YOU CAN PAY MORE TAX,” according to the Associated Press (AP). Local police swiftly confiscated the banner, dispersing the half-dozen demonstrators.
The protest is part of the “No Space for Bezos” movement, a coalition of Venetian housing advocates, anti-cruise ship campaigners, and university groups, which has criticized the wedding as emblematic of Venice’s overtourism crisis and municipal governance failures. Last week, activists hung banners from the San Giorgio bell tower and Rialto Bridge and plastered posters across the city decrying the event’s impact on local residents.
Greenpeace, collaborating with the British group “Everyone Hates Elon,” known for anti-Elon Musk demonstrations, said the action aimed to spotlight billionaires’ low tax contributions and environmentally unsustainable lifestyles. “This wedding highlights how wealth can commandeer public spaces while exacerbating the climate crisis,” a Greenpeace spokesperson told AP.
The demonstrations have drawn sharp criticism from Italian and Venetian authorities, who have welcomed the high-profile nuptials set for later this week. Meanwhile, Corila, a Venetian environmental research association, revealed over the weekend that Bezos’ Earth Fund is supporting its work with a significant donation. Corila, which collaborates with universities and Italy’s national research council on Venice’s protection strategies, clarified that discussions with Bezos began in April, predating the protests, though it declined to disclose the donation amount.
The protests underscore growing tensions in Venice over tourism’s dominance and the prioritization of wealthy visitors over local needs, activists say, as the city braces for the global attention the Bezos-Sanchez wedding will bring.
The protest is part of the “No Space for Bezos” movement, a coalition of Venetian housing advocates, anti-cruise ship campaigners, and university groups, which has criticized the wedding as emblematic of Venice’s overtourism crisis and municipal governance failures. Last week, activists hung banners from the San Giorgio bell tower and Rialto Bridge and plastered posters across the city decrying the event’s impact on local residents.
Greenpeace, collaborating with the British group “Everyone Hates Elon,” known for anti-Elon Musk demonstrations, said the action aimed to spotlight billionaires’ low tax contributions and environmentally unsustainable lifestyles. “This wedding highlights how wealth can commandeer public spaces while exacerbating the climate crisis,” a Greenpeace spokesperson told AP.
The demonstrations have drawn sharp criticism from Italian and Venetian authorities, who have welcomed the high-profile nuptials set for later this week. Meanwhile, Corila, a Venetian environmental research association, revealed over the weekend that Bezos’ Earth Fund is supporting its work with a significant donation. Corila, which collaborates with universities and Italy’s national research council on Venice’s protection strategies, clarified that discussions with Bezos began in April, predating the protests, though it declined to disclose the donation amount.
The protests underscore growing tensions in Venice over tourism’s dominance and the prioritization of wealthy visitors over local needs, activists say, as the city braces for the global attention the Bezos-Sanchez wedding will bring.
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