00:01The lovebirds have landed in Venice.
00:04Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and his betrothed Lorenz Sanchez
00:08have invited around 250 A-listers for three days of lavish wedding celebrations,
00:13which will see whole swathes of the floating city closed to the public, to the ire of locals.
00:24It's not a good thing. As usual, only those who have money can do this kind of thing.
00:28Venice is now the property of tourists.
00:31We who were born here either go to the mainland or have to ask them for permission to board a ferry.
00:39Residents have come together in protest, galvanising support from international NGOs
00:44who colourfully argued on a 400-square-metre banner,
00:47if you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax.
00:51And the activists claimed a small victory on Tuesday.
00:54The main reception was set to take place in the 16th century Scuola Grande de la Misericordia.
00:59But the Bezos millions were no match for activists threatening to flood the nearby canals
01:04with inflatable crocodiles to prevent their guests arriving.
01:07So they've scaled back their ambitions to the medieval Arsenale.
01:11The switch came the same day that a life-size mannequin of Bezos holding an Amazon box
01:16was thrown into the Grand Canal.
01:19And grievances are not limited to residents of the city affected by its housing crisis.
01:23For many, the event represents wider social and economic injustices.
01:28We think that one big billionaire can't rent a city for his pleasure.
01:33So we are here because we want to stop this injustice society,
01:38injustice climate, and we want to change the mind of people,
01:43we want to change the society.
01:45Around 90 private jets are set to land in local airports
01:49for a wedding valued at around 55 million dollars.
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