Dua Lipa and Callum Turner got married in Sicily and had parts of Palermo closed for this. Residents had to sign NDAs and protested with posters.
Can you rent an entire city? The answer is apparently: If you dig deep enough into your pockets, you can. Dua Lipa and Callum Turner have now proven this. They married in Sicily on the first weekend in June, transforming Palermo’s old town into a flawless film set. But not everyone enjoyed the exclusive romance.
Large-scale celebrations in Sicily
After the civil, intimate wedding in London the previous week, the large-scale celebrations took place in Sicily from June 6th to 8th. The singer and the actor confirmed their love with over 200 guests in Palermo and nearby Bagheria. There were well-known names on the guest list: Elton John, Charli XCX and Olivia Dean congratulated the wedding couple on the Italian island. To do this, the city administration closed two large public spaces and imposed parking and stopping bans for several days.
Fruit stands and vintage cars
Several streets in Palermo were closed for the star couple and two public squares were converted into private party locations – fruit stands and vintage cars on the streets instead of local shops and passers-by. The Piazza Sant’Anna and the Piazza Croce dei Vespri were chosen as the backdrop and were therefore only accessible to guests and staff.
The celebrations should remain undisturbed and far away from the paparazzi lenses. That’s why residents of the old town squares were asked to sign so-called NDAs – i.e. non-disclosure agreements. Dua Lipa and Turner made sure that no images or videos were taken from the balconies that line the squares. According to “DailyMail”, the residents received compensation of around 5,600 euros.
Protest in the old town
However, many people on site disliked the restrictions: the citizens’ initiative Apro Parlermo called for a protest. Posters with the inscription “Palermo is not for rent” adorned the old stone walls and had to be removed by the organizers. The protesters then resorted to more steadfast measures and sprayed their messages as graffiti around the city.
What was supposed to be an idyllic dream wedding caused great discontent among the locals. There were also extensive closures and parking and parking bans in neighboring Bagheria.
Divided opinions
However, Palermo’s mayor Roberto Lagalla looked positively at the wedding: it was good advertising for the region. However, he could understand the inconvenience for the residents, as “LaRepubblica” wrote. Mayor Bagherias, on the other hand, showed little understanding for the criticism. Filippo Maria Tripoli told the “Corriere della Sera”: “For me these are absurd discussions. I would like to have 100 Dua Lipa weddings a year.”
While the wedding guests danced until Monday, June 8th, the mood in the Sicilian cities was less exuberant. Ultimately, the wedding plays into the hands of the city’s coffers. The Daily Mail reported that the Bagheria municipal council received a total of 10,000 euros to make the festival possible at Villa Valguarnera.