Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez

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#602
bag-princess said:
www.yahoo.com

Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos face local resistance as Venice citizens protest wedding plans

As Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos prepare for their upcoming wedding in Venice, Italy, local citizens are voicing their concerns over fears the event will disrupt the city.
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com
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George and Amal got married there ten years ago and no one expressed outrage, but now there is a growing trend of locals in European cities protesting the onslaught of post-COVID tourists.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-new...as-louvre-shuts-down-temporarily-241693765799
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#604
Several articles say that Venetians are resentful of the Bezos wedding. You find a resentment of tourists in many major cities while at the same time they love the money that tourists spend. Venice is absolutely gorgeous. Of course it attracts throngs of tourists. If tourist travel dried up then so would a lot of businesses. The typical Bezos wedding guest isn't clipping coupons or dependent on Early Bird dinner specials. I'd think that any city would enjoy the receipts that a wealthy crowd generates. Free-lance article writers often get paid by word count so a lazy and easy way to generate clicks is to write about a manufactured outrage or quote three locals who love to bish about famous mega-rich people dEStrOyInG their neighborhood. IMO if you are a tourist destination, which Venice IS, be a little grateful for the tourist with a fat wallet who is only going to be there for 72 hours (and who isn't a destructive a-hole).
 
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#606
rose60610 said:
Several articles say that Venetians are resentful of the Bezos wedding. You find a resentment of tourists in many major cities while at the same time they love the money that tourists spend. Venice is absolutely gorgeous. Of course it attracts throngs of tourists. If tourist travel dried up then so would a lot of businesses. The typical Bezos wedding guest isn't clipping coupons or dependent on Early Bird dinner specials. I'd think that any city would enjoy the receipts that a wealthy crowd generates. Free-lance article writers often get paid by word count so a lazy and easy way to generate clicks is to write about a manufactured outrage or quote three locals who love to bish about famous mega-rich people dEStrOyInG their neighborhood. IMO if you are a tourist destination, which Venice IS, be a little grateful for the tourist with a fat wallet who is only going to be there for 72 hours (and who isn't a destructive a-hole).
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You're right about the dollars that tourism brings in, but Venice has gotten so overrun by tourists in recent years I can understand the resentment by locals. The areas frequented by tourists aren't even occupied by locals anymore. Many have moved to outer parts of the city. The city recently instituted a visitor fee because so many cruise passengers were coming in and not spending any money at local businesses but leaving mountains of garbage behind. We were there in 2019 and I did my part by patronizing the Ferragamo store :biggrin: But after my husband and I had lunch at a cafe in Piazza San Marco, I handed a cash tip to our server and thanked him. I didn't want to leave it on the table and have someone grab it. He looked at me and said in a haughty tone, "Thank you American". I thought I was being kind :sad: I don't see us ever returning. There are too many other beautiful cities where we've felt more welcome.
 
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#607
^^ I wholeheartedly agree with you on the perceived adverse effects of cruise ship day visitors. There have been protests in this regard in other European cities as locals are simply fed up, which I understand.
However, the upcoming wedding supposedly engages local businesses. As long as they don‘t start blocking roads/ streets, there shouldn’t be any issues IMO.
 
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#608
I thought this was an interesting read. The evolution of her face.

The article wants her to reverse the work she has done. I have to agree.. she ‘s looking like a modern day catwoman or Jocelyn Wildenstein. I always thought she looked a bit like Catherine Zeta Jones back in the day before she used fillers.

www.thelist.com

Lauren Sanchez's Face Has Changed A Lot Over The Years - The List

From humble beginnings to newscaster fame, Lauren Sanchez has undergone many changes over the years, and her face has changed along with her career.
www.thelist.com www.thelist.com
 
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#609
zen1965 said:
^^ I wholeheartedly agree with you on the perceived adverse effects of cruise ship day visitors. There have been protests in this regard in other European cities as locals are simply fed up, which I understand.
However, the upcoming wedding supposedly engages local businesses. As long as they don‘t start blocking roads/ streets, there shouldn’t be any issues IMO.
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My son is on the Board of Directors of the Save Venice Inc. and he says over tourism is killing it! The first thing that should be stopped are the cruise ships, which are disastrous for the ecosystem of the lagoon and canals. I would much prefer the Bezos wedding ,which brings big $$$ and only lasts a few days, rather than cruise ships all year round. I live in a big Italian city which has always had a lot of tourism but since the pandemic it's totally out of control!
 
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#610
I don't understand why they and a few hundred of their nearest and dearest have to descend (probably in private jets) on a city that is already struggling under the weight of tourism. They could take over any one of the many luxury resorts in Hawaii for a few days for the wedding, as Bill Gates did, and then go to Venice on their yacht for a honeymoon. Or is it a case of keeping up with the Clooneys?
 
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#611
chareen said:
I thought this was an interesting read. The evolution of her face.

The article wants her to reverse the work she has done. I have to agree.. she ‘s looking like a modern day catwoman or Jocelyn Wildenstein. I always thought she looked a bit like Catherine Zeta Jones back in the day before she used fillers.

www.thelist.com

Lauren Sanchez's Face Has Changed A Lot Over The Years - The List

From humble beginnings to newscaster fame, Lauren Sanchez has undergone many changes over the years, and her face has changed along with her career.
www.thelist.com www.thelist.com
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Best comment from the article:-

"a few suspected plastic surgeries"

Her face will collapse, surely, if much more work is done on it.
 
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#613
duna said:
My son is on the Board of Directors of the Save Venice Inc. and he says over tourism is killing it! The first thing that should be stopped are the cruise ships, which are disastrous for the ecosystem of the lagoon and canals. I would much prefer the Bezos wedding ,which brings big $$$ and only lasts a few days, rather than cruise ships all year round. I live in a big Italian city which has always had a lot of tourism but since the pandemic it's totally out of control!
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Interesting about the cruise ships. Most ports pay a pretty hefty fee to cruise lines to encourage stops for tourism. I would assume resources to protest at a political level would bear more fruit than an anti-Bezos campaign.
ETA- not saying they aren’t doing just that.
 
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#614
TC1 said:
Interesting about the cruise ships. Most ports pay a pretty hefty fee to cruise lines to encourage stops for tourism. I would assume resources to protest at a political level would bear more fruit than an anti-Bezos campaign.
ETA- not saying they aren’t doing just that.
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Cruise lines pay port fees. Ports generally do not, unless they are a secondary port looking to boost tourism. That is not the case with Venice.

Image 6-19-25 at 1.55 PM.webp
 
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