Dua Lipa and Callum Turner’s Palermo wedding has sparked anger amongst residents in the Italian city.
The Houdini hitmaker, 30, and Eternity actor, 36, will tie the knot for a second time in Sicily this weekend – having legally married in London last weekend – but the lavish nuptials have infuriated locals who have put up posters declaring that “Palermo is not for rent”.
Two town squares in the city have been closed to the public for the wedding and local residents have been made to sign non-disclosure agreements.
Roads have been closed and no drone fly zones are being enforced ahead of the star-studded ceremony that is set to be attended by guests including Elton John, Charli XCX and Donatella Versace.
In response to the upheaveal, Sicilians have put up posters with messages such as “Palermo is not for rent” and “Our square is not your living room”.
Another read: “Public spaces belong to everyone. We reclaim the right to live them, free from private profit.”
Wedding organisers had ripped down the banners, but the protesters hit back on Friday (June 5) morning by tagging the slogan with graffiti on a wall so that it was harder to scrub off.
Palermo’s Piazza Croce dei Vespri was also defiled with explicit graffiti.
A marble column in the middle of the square had scrawled on its plinth: “B******. You shafted me five euros (S$7.44). I’ll find you. Five slaps for you, you s***. I will not forgive you.”
An anti-tourism group behind the posters penned online: “If you live in the historical centre and you too want to pay tribute to Dua Lipa, hang this welcome poster from your balcony.”
Anger from locals comes amid suggestions that officials have said that there will be a “demonstration production”, rather than confirming the actual wedding.
A source told The Sun: “It’s all very, very off limits. It’s top secret. The security is private but the local police are involved with the organisation of the event.
“The squares they are going to close off are already pedestrian zones with no traffic.
“Officials have made up this ‘demonstration production in the square’ in Piazza Sant’Anna and Piazza dei Vaspri as an excuse to put up barriers and keep pedestrians out.”
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