As Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez prepare to get married in Venice, not everyone is delighted in the city of canals. Activists and residents have expressed displeasure over Mr Bezos and Ms Sanchez's lavish wedding preparations, saying it was disruptive and worsening the city's ongoing struggle against overtourism.
The wedding party is reportedly likely to take up the entire island of San Giorgio across from St Mark's Square.
Dubbed "the wedding of the century", it is expected to attract some 200 guests, including US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, and celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger, Leonardo DiCaprio and Katy Perry. They will reportedly join the pair for festivities on the Amazon owner's mega yacht, valued at over $500 million.
Overtourism and growing living expenses, however, have left locals disappointed.
Activists from "Everyone Hates Elon" and Greenpeace held an enormous banner featuring the billionaire and calling on him to pay more taxes in St Mark's Square on Monday. They claimed the "privatisation" and "exploitation" of the city were the real problems.
The fact that billionaires like Bezos overcrowd the city with activities that solely benefit an affluent few, making life difficult for regular Venetians, has angered the locals, reports say.
One group, "No Space for Bezos," has used social media to promote a nonviolent protest scheduled for Saturday. Locals have been urged to turn out and block the canals and fill the streets.
Instagram posts for the account raise awareness of the e-commerce behemoth's effects on small companies around the world, the mounting economic difficulties in Venice, and Amazon's labour and environmental standards.
While the city and regional authorities that permitted the lavish wedding claimed that it would improve the city's economy, residents already struggling with over-tourism and rising housing costs are unconvinced.
Alice Bazzoli, a "No Space for Bezos" campaigner, claimed the Amazon founder was basically going to "treat the entire city as a private ballroom, as a private event area, as if the citizens are not there."
In the banner unfurled in St. Mark's Square, activists focused on Mr Bezos' enormous fortune, which they said should be taxed more than it is currently.
Despite being the second richest person in the world after Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos reportedly pays only a 1.1 per cent true tax rate.
The wedding celebrations are likely to play out over three days, most likely around June 26-28.
