“The birth of the ‘No space for Bezos’ committee is truly incomprehensible, as are the dissenting opinions regarding an extraordinary event such as the wedding of the president of the Amazon group: it is right to respect opinions, but it is unfair to limit freedom.
Respecting a point of view is one thing, preventing access to a city or the passage of a vessel is another.”
This is the comment of the prosecco entrepreneur Sandro Bottega, on the eve of the wedding that will take place in Venice between Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez between today and Sunday. “And it is even more curious to try to understand the reasons that lead to this opposition – continues Bottega – not easy to find: an event like this will bring work to hotels, waiters, dishwashers, transporters, taxi drivers, cooks, beverage and food distributors. And there are those who dispute the fact that some of them will be underpaid: it certainly would not be Bezos’ fault and in any case, if there is greater wealth, they will probably be able to get tips and prizes. Venice seen as an amusement park? No, it is an extraordinary place, a UNESCO heritage site that obviously, like any other site with this recognition, wants to be visited by millions of people and whose flows must be regulated. A limited number of accesses is welcome, but if I were the mayor I would also establish a policy of distribution of these flows, not only towards the ‘key sites’ – Piazza San Marco and Ponte di Rialto – but also towards different areas of the city, which are ignored and are also incredibly beautiful”. To ensure the safety of the 200 guests, teams of ex-marines are expected to have jet skis at their disposal to reach the ‘red zones’ of the wedding. Catering will be 1000 euros per person and the presence of starred chefs is expected, as well as big pop stars and politicians. “Bezos is a brilliant entrepreneur who has built an extraordinary company that employs 1.5 million people around the world; people who have freely chosen to work for Amazon and not for another reality. This man comes to Venice for one of the most important moments of his life, bringing wealth, work, fame and prestige to the city: not that Venice needs it, but it certainly does not harm it and an event like this will be an example that many other couples in the world will want to imitate, rich and less rich. Individuals who will want to admire this beautiful city even more, which will thus be able to deseasonalise its tourism and bring wealth at all levels. Above all, that elite tourism that we need in our territories”, concludes the prosecco entrepreneur Sandro Bottega.