Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Wedding in Venice Sparks Protests

The lavish wedding party of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and TV presenter Lauren Sanchez concludes this evening in Venice with the main gala event. But as their celebrity guests were preparing to step into water taxis from their luxury hotels, paparazzi poised, a crowd of some Venetians gathered to protest against the big event. Their causes are varied, from locals opposed to over-tourism in a delicate city, to activists protesting against climate change and capitalism. Hundreds marched through the city on Saturday evening, hanging a 'no space for Bezos' banner from the Rialto bridge and setting off multicoloured flares. But plans to launch themselves into the city's canals with inflatable crocodiles and block the wedding guests' passage were dropped.

Spotted heading into Harry Bar's for lunch on Saturday, Bezos blew kisses towards the cameras when a local journalist asked what he made of the protests. The city's deputy mayor dismissed the activists as 'narcissists' and insisted the wedding was the 'high-quality tourism' Venice needs. Simone Venturini, city councillor for economic developments, said he hoped 'a lot of people will want to get married in Venice' now and boost the city's wedding sector. 'We are not Iran. The city cannot say who can or who cannot get married. We have no moral police going around,' he told the BBC on the bank of the Grand Canal, as gondolas loaded with tourists drifted by.

The activists have already claimed one win, though. Tonight's party was moved further from the city centre for security reasons. The new venue, Arsenale, is easier to protect. 'I think the main problem is that Venice is becoming like an amusement park,' argues Paola, an Italian member of the Extinction Rebellion group. She's especially incensed that wedding guests arrived here on private jets and argues the world's elite are the worst polluters. 'Of course, mass tourism is eating the city alive, but the fact that billionaires can come here and use the city as their amusement park is an enormous problem.'

The Italian media have leapt on the glitz and glamour of what they are dubbing the 'wedding of the year.' Their pages and posts are full of pictures of the 200 or so A-list celebrities now in town, including Leonardo di Caprio and Kim Kardashian. There's talk of cuttlefish banquets – tonight's spread will feature cod, cooked regional-style – and photos of the bride's white lace Dolce and Gabbana gown, apparently inspired by one worn by Sophia Loren in the 1950s. It seems, however, that talk of this wedding bringing the city to a halt was overblown. Ivanka Trump has been spotted at an art gallery, as has Bill Gates, and the newly married couple have been photographed and filmed in various locations and outfits. But most tourists, or Venetians, are more likely to bump into a Bezos look-a-like, who made the journey from Germany specially to pose for photos, than any of the real-life rich and famous.

But fears of Venice becoming a tourist playground, forcing locals out of town, are no exaggeration. Just down from the main railway station, police check visitors at random for mandatory day passes. It is a new measure to try to control the crowds. All around, cafes are packed with people shiny-faced from the humidity and pink from the brutally fierce sun. A short walk away is the pretty piazza where Roberto Zanon has spent all his life but which he now has to leave. His landlord has sold his home to out-of-town developers and the 77-year old is being evicted soon together with his two dogs. Finding anything else in his home city is impossible, Roberto says. He can't compete with higher-paying tourists. 'One, two, three doors - those are locals, but the rest is all for tourism now,' Roberto says, pointing to the wooden doors around his square. 'There are fewer and fewer Venetians here,' he says quietly, deeply upset at the loss of his home. 'There is no purpose any more. You lose your friends. You lose piece of your heart. But sadly this situation is unstoppable.' That doesn't mean Roberto is fretting about a billionaire choosing Venice for his wedding, mind you. He worked in tourism himself for many years and calls it 'an honour' to have such famous guests in the city he himself loves so much. 'I find it positive.' He's not alone.