Jeff Bezos’s upcoming Venice wedding has become a lightning rod for protest, as locals disgruntled with overtourism join climate activists to rage against a spectacle that to them epitomises many global ills.

"If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax," activists said on the banner protesting Bezos before his wedding.

The lavish but controversial wedding of the Amazon founder and his former TV personality bride is expected to take place in the ancient Italian city later this week.