Dua Lipa and Callum Turner wedding divides Palermo: ‘I could understand if it was for the pope’ | Dua Lipa

C.Oncetta Chllemi was chatting with friends in front of her shop next to Palermo’s modern art gallery, housed in a magnificent baroque church in the city’s historic centre. A few meters away, an Italian television crew pointed its camera at the small square in front of the church, where event staff in black T-shirts were bustling around in the heat.

They were preparing for the arrival of British singer Dua Lipa and actor Callum Turner, who will celebrate their wedding in the Sicilian capital over the next two days after exchanging vows in London last weekend.

Dua Lipa is one of the world’s biggest pop stars, but Chillemi admits she didn’t know who she was until last summer, when the couple vacationed in Palermo shortly after their engagement, including photos taken during an engagement. snack at a nearby bar.

Curious about all the fuss, Chllemi said she was familiar with Dua Lipa’s music. “We met up with some of the other shop owners here and listened to a few songs,” he said with a surprised shrug.

The newlyweds are expected to be given a private tour late Friday afternoon. Galleria d’Arte Moderna di PalermoHis collection of more than 200 masterpieces from the 19th and 20th centuries before joining his guests in the cordoned-off square. Details are being closely guarded and everyone involved is being kept tight-lipped due to strict confidentiality agreements, but one council worker has hinted that there will be a “buffet” of some sort and perhaps Elton John will be playing the piano.

The couple arrived in Palermo by private jet on Thursday night. they stay Villa IgieaThe five-star art nouveau hotel, where an entire suite floor has been booked to host guests including Elton John, as well as Kylie Minogue, Donatella Versace, Harry Styles, Charli xcx (another British pop star who married in Sicily last September) and possibly Robbie Williams.

Italian media hailed the celebrations as the wedding of the year, creating anticipation for weeks.

However, the mood on the pitch in Palermo is a bit mixed. While some residents are proud that Dua Lipa chose the city for her wedding ceremony, others complain about road closures, security cordons and general disruption to daily life. Chllemi counts himself among those who view the excitement with some degree of skepticism.

“Sometimes it feels like the city is turning into a theme park,” he said, expressing concern about mass tourism and the high-profile events that intensify it.

Clarissa, who does not want to give her last name, works in a bar close to Chillemi’s shop. “I really love Dua Lipa’s music and admire her for all the activism she does,” he said. “But although it was fun to hold the celebrations in Palermo, it brought with it many problems; for example, for three days we had to park kilometers away and walk to work. It is not right to block the city. I could understand if this was for the pope, but not for a singer.”

Concetta Picciuca, a hotel worker and Dua Lipa fan, didn’t mind at all. “I listen to his music all the time, it helps me relax,” he said. “There are people who complain, but I think this event is a good thing because it is good for the economy… Maybe, like me, they should come to work by bike instead of car.”

Picciuca lived in Bagheria, a town near the center of Palermo where the wedding celebrations were to take place on Saturday. The evening’s venue is an 18th-century palace called Villa Valguarnera, which belonged to a descendant of the Sicilian aristocracy and is one of the venues used in the Netflix miniseries Il Gattopardo (The Leopard), based on the 1860s novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.

Bagheria was once a stronghold of Cosa Nostra, Sicily’s mafia, but Picciuca said the main thing Dua Lipa will have to worry about these days will be getting flooded. “People there have a habit of pouring dirty water onto their balconies instead of throwing it into the sink… I got so wet myself.”

The Guardian went to Bagheria to gauge sentiment around the celebrations. Although the mayor of Bagheria, Filippo Tripoli, is pleased that the town has achieved global “visibility”, there are groans here too. Clothing store owner Maria Aiello said: “I love Dua Lipa, but what are we going to make of all this chaos? It’s not like she’ll come and buy anything from my store.”

Francesco, who gathers with his retired friends every evening on a bench near Villa Valguarnera, said he was excited when celebrities came to Bagheria and even claimed to have insider knowledge of what they would eat. “The menu will be entirely Sicilian – arancini, pasta alla norma, cannoli, the works,” he said.

Dua Lipa’s connection to Palermo, the city that has undergone a radical transformation in the last decade, appears to have begun in 2023, when Foot Locker Europe released a series of photos of her. Wearing the pink jersey of Palermo football club To promote Puma Palermo trainers.

Palermo mayor Roberto Lagalla said he could understand residents’ complaints about the glitch but said it was a “small sacrifice”. “It will achieve a significant result in increasing visibility and, above all, strengthening the often struggling economy of a city that is beginning to breathe easier thanks to tourism,” he said.

Lagalla, who hopes to meet the newlyweds, dismissed concerns that such events would intensify tourism and related problems. “We are getting more cultural tourism and more spending visitors,” he said. “That’s important. Yes, Palermo is popular for weddings, whether they are between famous people or not, because it is a hospitable city.”