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Amazon boss, Jeff Bezos, has pulled out all the stops for his lavish Venetian wedding to former journalist, Lauren Sanchez – but things haven’t quite gone to plan

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have suffered another wedding setback ahead of their eye-wateringly expensive nuptials. The Amazon boss, 61, is pulling out all the stops for the lavish bash in Venice this week, which is rumoured to have set him back a staggering $20,000 (£15m).

Jeff and Lauren, 55, who arrived in Italy today, were supposed to be hosting a star-studded party at the 16th-century Scuola Grande della Misericordia as part of a multi-day celebration. However, after angry locals threatened to throw inflatable crocodiles into the canal outside the venue, they’ve moved the do to a fortress. But, in more bad news for the starry-eyed pair, another one of the historic venues that billionaire, Jeff, has chosen for his wedding is not looking its best – because it’s covered in scaffolding.

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The uber glam three-day event will feature a party held at the breathtaking 15th Century Madonna dell Orto church in Venice’s quaint Cannargio district tomorrow night.

In preparation, security guards have now blocked off entrances where the bash will be held, but what guests will be met with when they arrive at the venue is the iconic bell tower covered in scaffolding, reports MailOnline.

This has left locals wondering if mega mogul, Jeff, may have booked the venue after a quick Google image search, without realising it’s actually in a state of repair.

It comes after the divisive figure was forced to relocate his lavish Venice wedding celebrations after furious residents threatened to blockade the city’s historic canals with inflatables. Jeff had planned to host a A-list-packed party at the 16th-century Scuola Grande della Misericordia.

However, amid growing backlash from locals who accused him of “shutting down Venice,” he has reportedly now moved the event to a more secure venue.

Some protesters vowed to toss inflatable crocodiles into the canals, blocking celebrity guests from arriving by gondola or water taxi. “This is a big victory for us,” declared Tommaso Cacciari, a member of the No Space for Bezos protest group. “Who would have thought that we could change the plans of one of the richest men on the planet?”

The wedding will now take place at the Arsenale – a vast, fortress-like complex of shipyards and warehouses once used to build Venetian warships.

However, in another potential headache for Jeff and Lauren, their guestlist has reportedly been leaked after several of the bride-to-be’s glam squad’s name were seen on a list clutched by a tour guide welcoming the wedding party to Venice.

Among the attendees are two famous make-up artists – and a drag queen tailor, who are all rumoured to be helping Lauren look her best for her big day.

She’s certainly going to make sure all eyes are on her – despite the scaffolding.

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Fans of Taylor Swift have been left perplexed by the discovery that one of the singer’s songs was actually written for a 2013 movie, which is unusual.

Fans of Taylor Swift are just learning where one of her lesser-known songs came from. The singer-songwriter has 11 studio albums to her credit and has released hundreds of songs, including songs that were included in movie soundtracks or stand-alone singles that aren’t on her albums.

However, a relatively unknown Taylor Swift song has been receiving some discussion because some of her fans have only recently learned how it came to be. The singer began re-recording some of her earlier albums and frequently included unreleased tracks that weren’t on the original release after the 2019 dispute over the ownership of Swift’s back catalogue.

Swift included a song titled Sweeter Than Fiction on the 1989 release of Taylor’s Version, which was released in 2023. For the first time since her 2024 Eras Tour in Amsterdam, she performed it live.

The song was actually released in 2013 as part of the soundtrack to a very unlikely movie, despite never having been on an album before.

Co-hosts Benedict and Hannah Townsend discuss the little-known song in a TikTok clip shared by the podcast Talk of the Townsends and reveal that it was written for the 2013 movie One Chance.

The British opera singer and winner of the Got Talent, Paul Potts, is the subject of the biographical film One Chance. James Corden portrays Paul’s singer, and Yvonne Walters portrays her mother.

Hannah stated in the video that she believes Taylor Swift’s contribution to the Paul Potts film Sweeter Than Fiction is of particular significance to her.

Taylor Swift was out of her cycle at the time, which meant she didn’t record any more music until the album she was about to release. However, James Corden’s relationship with Paul Potts made it seem as though she was like, “I have to be involved in that.” I’m not sure if she was simply drawn to Paul Potts and his tale.

She wrote Sweeter Than Fiction [for it] because of this. And she sang it on the Eras Tour, which I believe took place in Amsterdam. She sang “Sweeter Than Fiction.” On The Eras Tour, a song from the Paul Potts film was sung. “

Swift previously spoke about wanting to be involved in the film during an interview with BBC Newsbeat in 2013, where she said her record label didn’t want her to take on the project until she begged them to be a part of it.

She said, “Until the next album comes out, my management and my label were like, “No new music.” When I watched the movie, I thought, “I have to be a part of this. ‘

I consider this film to be incredible, funny, adorable, heartwarming, and very special. “

Even though the song was written for Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom, U2, lost out to Swift for Best Original Song.

The Townsends’ video’s commentators were unsure of the song’s origins. Even some people who hailed it as their “favorite Taylor Swift song” were unsure of where it came from.

Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos has touched down in Venice with his bride-to-be Lauren Sanchez as locals gear up for a weekend of disruption amid escalating tension and protests

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have arrived in Venice, Italy, ahead of their lavish wedding celebrations, which will take place over the next few days. A helicopter picked Bezos and his bride-to-be up from his superyacht Koru’s support ship, the Albeona.

They were docked just off the coast of Croatia, with the chopped taking 61-year-old Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, 55, to the city of Venice. It landed in the Venice Lido, which is where the annual Venice Film Festival takes place.

To kick proceedings off on Thursday night, a casual welcome dinner will be held at the 14th Century Madonna dell’Orto church. Local sources claim security is ultra-tight, turning the stunning city into a “fortress-like operation”.

The ceremony was expected to take place at the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, an historic 16th-century building in the city centre. But the No Space for Bezos campaign group claim the couple scrambled to change their plans, after activists threatened to block the canals with inflatable crocodiles to stop their guests from attending.

Instead, it’s been moved to Arsenale, a shipyard complex which will be near-impossible for protestors to get to. Lauren Sanchez and her husband-to-be arrived, with Lauren wearing oversized black sunglasses and a simple black halterneck dress.

Meanwhile, their high-profile guests have begun to descend on the city. Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka arrived with her husband Jared Kushner. She wore a green dress and canvas sunhat as she arrived by boat after a day of sightseeing. The couple’s three children, Arabella Rose, Joseph Frederick and Theodore James, joined them.

Other guests to arrive early include Jeff’s adoptive father Miguel Bezos, as well as Orlando Bloom, Katy Perry, Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian. Just 11 people live on the island and its only dwelling is a modest five-bedroom home, previously the guesthouse to a convent which was part of a long-destroyed monastery complex.

But tension is growing on mainland Venice, where most of the A-listers are staying. Campaigners Everyone Hates Elon (EHE) and Greenpeace protesters laid out a huge 20x20m banner near to where the Amazon founder will marry his partner.

Set out in the city’s famous St Mark’s Square, the message reads: “IF YOU CAN RENT VENICE FOR YOUR WEDDING YOU CAN PAY MORE TAX.” The groups are critical of Mr Bezos, who is the second-richest man in the world, as he is reported to pay a 1.1% true tax rate.

A spokesperson from EHE explained: “As governments talk about hard choices and struggle to fund public services, Jeff Bezos can afford to shut down half a city for days on end just to get married. Just weeks ago, he spent millions on an 11-minute space trip. If there was ever a sign billionaires like Bezos should pay wealth taxes, it’s this.

“While ordinary people struggle to pay the bills, there are more billionaires than ever before. These two things are obviously connected – they’re getting richer at our expense. It’s not rocket science: tax billionaires like Jeff Bezos now.”

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These creamy blusher sticks launched last week and, after giving them a proper go, I’m so impressed with how fresh and youthful they make my complexion look, says our beauty editor

A new Charlotte Tilbury product launch is always big news in the beauty world, and its latest was no exception. Last week the much-loved make-up and skincare brand unveiled an extension to its Unreal Skin Foundation Stick with new Unreal Blush Healthy Glow Sticks, and I was lucky enough to try them out ahead of their launch.

Available in six shades, Unreal Blush, £30, is a chubby, twist-up stick of creamy, skincare-packed colour, which can be used on the cheeks and the lips (or anywhere you like, really). I’ve used them for a good few days now, and can now say that they’ve become a firm fixture in my make-up bag for just how good they make my skin look; I’d even go as far as the say they knock years off the clock.

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I was sent a few shades of Unreal Blush to try, but the one that suits my fair skin best is Rosy Glow, a dusky neutral pink (I think this will be the most popular with shoppers). All the colours are very pigmented, so you only need to apply a small dot each time then blend it out.

The formula is so unbelievably creamy; it just melts onto the skin, and blends really well with either fingers or a brush (I prefer using a brush). You can really feel how hydrating it is on the skin, and this feeling lasts all day, no patchiness or cracking here.

Apply the right blush, and in the right places, and it will usually make your skin look fresher and more awake, but these Charlotte Tilbury sticks are especially good at this. The combination of the perky shades and the dewy formula are really prettifying, and give skin such a boost – something that’s especially welcome at the moment, as I’ve been struggling to sleep at night due to the warm weather.

I’d go as far as to say that wearing this blush makes me look younger, much like the effect that the Charlotte Tilbury Unreal Skin Foundation Stick had on me (you can read my full review here, but in summary, I was asked to show ID when wearing this face base – and I was 36 at the time).

Charlotte Tilbury Unreal Blush Healthy Glow Stick

£30

Find your shade here

With so many gorgeous stick blushes on the market nowadays, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to using pressed powder one, and they’ve totally converted a former blush-phobe into a huge fan. Others I love are Rhode’s Pocket Blush, £24 (the shade Piggy is my favourite), Merit’s now-cult classic Flush Balm, £26, and the new Dior Backstage Rosy Glow Stick, £37.