CNN’s Melissa Bell reports from Venice where billionaire Jeff Bezos and former journalist Lauren Sanchez welcome a growing number of A-list celebrities, all while local activists unfurl their banners in protest.

Venice

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former journalist Lauren Sanchez are holding a high-profile wedding in Venice, Italy, attended by prominent figures such as Ivanka Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Tom Brady, Orlando Bloom, and Mick Jagger. The event features extensive security and secrecy, with luxury hotels and water taxis reserved for around 200 guests, and festivities taking place at notable venues including the Madonna dell'Orto church and Bezos' superyacht anchored in the Venice lagoon.

The celebrations have sparked protests from local activists and Greenpeace, who criticize the scale and exclusivity of the event. Despite the controversy, the couple has reportedly made donations to local cultural and architectural preservation foundations and requested guests forgo gifts in favor of charitable contributions. The wedding's estimated cost ranges between $46 and $55 million, according to local officials.

Jeff Bezos' star-studded wedding weekend well underway

Italy's floating city of love flooded with A-list celebrities, from Ivanka Trump to Oprah Winfrey and Kim Kardashian. They're all descending on a sweltering Venice for the multimillion-dollar wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former news anchor Lauren Sanchez. Other big names include Tom Brady, Orlando Bloom and Mick Jagger. Details of the nuptials are shrouded in secrecy. But we believe that 30 of the city's elite water taxis have been booked for the occasion, which is unfolding from Friday through Saturday, as well as every yacht port. Several accommodation venues have also been reserved for the 200 or so guests, including five Venetian luxury hotels and the Madonna dell'Orto church, where Reuters reports the first night's open-air festivities are taking place on Thursday. Bezos' $500 million superyacht Coru was expected to be one of the main wedding locations, but it's just too big to be allowed anywhere near the city's most scenic waterways and will be anchored in the Venice lagoon instead. That didn't stop paparazzi though from getting photos of Lauren Sanchez having a phone party with friends on board. Some local officials in Venice are taking it all in their stride. We're used to having weddings and celebrations. We had the G7 last year, the Holy Father came. This is a city that was born to do diplomacy and trade. This is the history of Venice, the meeting of people and cultures. But not everyone is celebrating. Activists from Greenpeace rolled out a massive banner in San Marco's square on Monday, criticizing the lavish extravaganza. Tommaso Caciari leads the No Space for Bezos protest group. When you see Venice not as a city anymore, but as a big theme park, a big kind of private dance hall where you can just hire parts of it or, like in this case, all of it, is exactly the problem. The message of this wedding party is that I am super rich and I can buy all Venice. Altogether, the festivities are expected to cost somewhere between $46 and $55 million. That's according to the president of Venice's local government. In the last few days, the couple have reportedly donated to several charitable foundations here in Venice devoted to architectural and cultural preservation. And according to a portion of the wedding invitation that was broadcast by ABC's Good Morning America, they've suggested that guests not bring gifts, saying rather that donations will be made to these causes on their behalf. For now, all eyes are on the tech billionaire and his bride, and whether or not they'll be able to tie the knot in relative peace.

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