VENICE, Italy (Reuters) -Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez have invited scores of VIPs from film, finance and show business to Venice this week for three days of wedding celebrations.
Here are some facts and figures about what has been dubbed the “Wedding of the Century,” much of which has been kept secret, including details about the guest list and the exact cost of festivities.
55-MILLION DOLLAR OCCASION
The wedding and its parts are expected to cost 40-48 million euros ($46.5 – $55.6 million), Luca Zaia, president of the Veneto regional government that comprises Venice, told reporters on Tuesday.
Bezos will make sizeable charity donations, including 1 million euros for Corila, an academic consortium that studies Venice’s lagoon ecosystem, Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper and the ANSA news agency reported on Sunday.
VENUE
The day and the venue for the wedding ceremony itself are still confidential, but the main party is slated for Saturday at the Arsenale (the Arsenal), a historical site in the eastern part of the city.
This highly fortified area, surrounded by imposing walls, was used to build the Republic of Venice’s naval ships in its 15th-century heyday.
90 PRIVATE JETS, 30 WATER TAXIS
The first private jets arrived at Venice airport on Tuesday, and Zaia said around 90 will land at Venice and nearby airports such as Treviso and Verona over the next few days.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had been holidaying in Tuscany, arrived in Venice on Tuesday.
The organisers have also booked at least 30 water taxis from different companies in Venice for the wedding guests.
FIVE HOTELS FOR 250 GUESTS
Five of the city’s most luxurious hotels have been booked out to host an expected 200-250 guests.
The hotels include Cipriani on the island of Giudecca, and the Aman on the Grand Canal where U.S. actor George Clooney stayed for his 2014 wedding with human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin.
($1 = 0.8613 euros)
(Reporting by Sara Rossi and Yara Nardi, editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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