There's another twist in the lead-up to Jeff Bezos' blockbuster Venetian wedding, as a major venue change has been forced on the eve of the event. More importantly, it’s for a bizarre reason you might not expect.
It wasn't that shocking to find out that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was setting up a wedding that even the richest individuals across the world would struggle to compete with, as he currently sits with the fourth highest global net worth, below only Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, and Elon Musk.
Following his divorce from his philanthropic ex-wife MacKenzie Scott, Bezos became engaged to his current fiancée Lauren Sánchez in 2023, gifting her a several-million-dollar ring with the proposal taking place on Bezos' $500,000,000 superyacht.
They revealed that their long-awaited wedding would be taking place in Venice this year, although it has had its fair share of issues in the lead up, with most stemming from local unrest.
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Residents of the canal-filled city have made their opposition to the wedding clear, with many furious that Bezos has been allowed to effectively take over the city by spending a lot of money, and there has been plenty of talk of protests.
However, there is a more bizarre reason why Bezos has been forced to move the venue at the last minute, although protests are still undeniably playing a part in the decision.
Why has Bezos been forced to move the venue?
As reported by the Daily Mail, growing global tensions - especially between the United States and Iran - have been cited as the primary motivation behind the late decision to switch locations.
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The decision has been revealed by local media sources, as they point towards an already 'tension-filled' wedding, so moving it elsewhere would make it 'easier to control'.
Initially, the wedding was set to take place at the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, but the change of plans has redirected proceedings to an unknown venue in the Arsenale area of Venice.
The Guardian adds an altogether more unusual twist to the tale, claiming that protestors planned to block the canals with inflatable crocodiles. The No Space for Bezos group has claimed victory over the venue change, saying its threats of disturbing Bezos' big day with inflatable crocodiles worked.
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The group cheered: "The crocodile initiative would have given a bad impression of the city – this is why the venue was changed even if the authorities might try to claim it was because of the war.”
Bezos already had a number of former US Marines employed as private security for the wedding, but Venice's proximity to a nearby large American air base at Aviano appears to have also been taken into consideration.
Meetings allegedly took place earlier this week between local authorities, police, and the wedding's security teams to further discuss the strong possibility for unrest on the big day, but the aim is that moving to an less publicized and more discreet area will kill two birds with one stone, avoiding the brunt of protests and mitigating the 'winds of war', which appear to be affecting plans.