Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and TV presenter Lauren Sanchez are throwing a multi-day wedding in Venice. Private yachts, ex-Marines for security, celebrity guests like Kim Kardashian and Leonardo DiCaprio, the whole billionaire spectacle.
But while Bezos is busy planning the party of the year, locals are planning protests. They’ve already managed to get one big celebration moved out of the historic centre.
But this isn’t just about one wedding. Venice has a massive overtourism problem. Millions of visitors flood the city each year, pushing out locals, hiking rents, and damaging the fragile lagoon.
Venice is literally sinking. Climate change is raising sea levels. Cruise ships were banned from the city centre after years of erosion. But the tourist crowds keep coming.
To manage overtourism, Venice now charges a €5 entry fee for day-trippers. It’s supposed to limit crowds and help preserve the city. But critics say it’s not enough. Some even call it a joke, five euros is cheaper than a spritz.
And Venice isn’t alone. Across southern Europe, anti-tourism protests are growing. In Barcelona, locals march with ‘Your holidays, my misery’ banners. In the Canary Islands, people demand caps on visitor numbers. They blame tourism for rising rents, overcrowded streets, and environmental damage.
Sure, tourists bring money. But at what cost? Locals are asking: Who is the city really for?
Other places are trying new rules, Amsterdam tells rowdy stag parties to ‘stay away.’ Kyoto limits visitors at its temples. Thailand’s Maya Bay only allows a few hundred people a day.
The idea isn’t to stop tourism completely. It’s about making it sustainable. So that real cities don’t turn into playgrounds for the ultra-rich while locals get priced out.
So as Jeff Bezos prepares to party in Venice, Venetians are fighting to keep their city real. What do you think? Should billionaires get to rent a city for a wedding? Or should these places stay alive for the people who call them home?
