Dua Lipa has reportedly compensated Palermo residents with £5,000 following local discontent over the city’s temporary closure due to her extravagant wedding festivities, which was met with graffiti protests.
The 30-year-old singer is preparing to marry actor Callum Turner, aged 36, during a luxurious three-day celebration in Italy, kicking off with a cocktail gathering at the opulent Palazzo Valguarnera Gangi.
The wedding arrangements have led to the closure of two city squares, Piazza Croce dei Vespri and Piazza Sant’Anna, prompting an outcry from the community.
Residents have expressed their dissatisfaction, with graffiti sightings reported across the city by the Daily Mail over the weekend.
In response, reports indicate that Dua Lipa has offered £5,000 to those residing in apartments that overlook areas designated for additional wedding parking.
The Daily Mail also noted vulgar graffiti on a marble column in the square where the welcoming cocktail party took place on Friday evening.
Dua Lipa has reportedly paid out £5,000 to residents in Palermo – after furious locals protested the city’s shut-down with graffiti on her lavish wedding weekend
Locals have made their feelings known, with the Daily Mail spotting various graffiti around the city this weekend
A source told The Sun: ‘It doesn’t really match the idyllic love story vibe that Dua seems to be going for.’
A representative for Dua Lipa has been contacted by The Daily Mail for comment.
Another message was sprayed near the Piazza Croce dei Vesper square, which read: ‘Palermo is not for rent.’ It was soon painted over.
Just before 5.30pm crowds who had gathered in Piazza Sant Anna to watch arrivals of the cocktail party were left disappointed when police moved them on.
One disgruntled local said: ‘It all seems a bit over the top. We just wanted to see Dua Lipa and wish her well, but police have moved told us to leave.’
The piazza was decorated with a classic Mercedes, Alfa Romeo Giulietta and a Fiat 128 and on top of the last car was a plate of courgettes, tomatoes, cherries and fava beans.
There was also an outdoor cocktail bar decorated with antique mirrors and prints of traditional Sicilian scenes and books on shelves.
Some local businesses are angry that they have had to close up early on a Friday evening – one of the most popular nights for going out in Palermo which has also become a magnet for British tourists in recent years.
The Galleria Moderna opposite the square closed to the public at 2pm on Friday as it will also host part of the celebrations and was reportedly hired out for £10,000.
Metal crush barriers have also been put up to allow a sterile area for VIPs attending the wedding to arrive by car unseen.
Celebrations kicked off Thursday night with an outdoor cocktail party at the Villa Igiea hotel where Dua, Callum and the majority of guests were staying.
The singer, 30, is set to wed actor Callum Turner, 36, on Saturday as part of a three-day Italian extravaganza which began with a cocktail party at Palazzo Valguarnera Gangi
The graffiti was later painted over by staff, well before Dua, Callum and their guests made their arrival for the first night of celebrations which consisted of a cocktail party
Locals have erected posters in protest after parts of the city has been all but shut down for the big day
A side street leading to the square has been blocked off from prying eyes with a huge black screen
That evening, thick set security teams with black T shirts and impressive tattoos were patrolling the square keeping an eye on passersby and the media.
In an interview with local paper La Republica, Palermo’s mayor Roberto Lagalla expressed his delight at Dua and Callum choosing the city for their celebrations.
Highlighting how the couple had visited last year on holiday and fallen in love with the city, he said: ‘The fact that a world class artist like Dua Lipa chose Palermo to celebrate her wedding and did so just a year after her previous visit, confirms how attractive the city is today on an international level.’
Then responding to reports of grumbling locals he added: ‘I understand the inconvenience caused by events of this magnitude, and I’m sorry if anyone will have to face temporary restrictions.
‘We know that extraordinary events can leave some people unhappy because of their exceptional nature, these are limited time events.
‘All the measures adopted were designed primarily to ensure the safety of those involved and the public.
‘We must not forget the image boost Palermo receives from occasions like this. The international visibility generated by events of this magnitude helps strengthen the city’s attractiveness and generate widespread economic benefits.’
Police and security have been preparing to throw a ‘ring of steel’ around Piazza Santa Anna and Piazza Croce dei Vespri in Palermo from Thursday to Saturday.
However, officials are said to have put out a vague notice claiming there will be a ‘demonstration production’ instead of confirming the wedding.
Residents in Palermo are said to be split over the disruption in the area, with some cheekily asking if Dua would put on a free concert on the beach in return.
Dua and Callum touched down in Sicily on Thursday ahead of their big day, with the couple unwinding at the £6,000-a-night Villa Igiea Hotel.
No expense has been spared, with the pair said to have booked an entire floor of suites at the hotel overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea.
A further 10,000 Euros has been paid to the local council at Bagheria where another reception will be held at the Villa Valguarnera on Saturday at which Elton John is rumoured to be playing a set.
More than 50 bodyguards have been drafted in from Rome and London to provide security for the event and streets around the Villa Valguarnera have also been closed much to the annoyance of local businesses.
One cafe opposite said: ‘I’m delighted they are getting married but for us it means a loss of business for the day. There is no point opening up because no one will be able to get to us.’
Dua and Callum have flown to the Italian island for their star-studded wedding, after celebrating their legal ceremony in London on Sunday
As part of strict security measures waste bins have been removed and temporary no drone fly zones have been established around the Galleria Moderna and Villa Valguarnera.
One local who lives next door to Villa Valguarnera – an Italo-Scot – told the Daily Mail: ‘I came out of my house to do some shopping and took a short cut past the villa and two mountain men jumped out on me.
‘They had black T-shirts on with the word security and asked what I was doing. I said I lived here and was going shopping. They thought I was a paparazzi.’
The cost of the wedding is said to be 1.5million Euros.
Antonio Rini, from Palermo Council’s tourism department, said: ‘For us having Dua Lipa’s wedding here is a great honour and the welcome they will receive will promote the city on the international stage.
‘Several big international artists will be arriving in Palermo for the wedding and this is a great return for the city.’
Insiders have been hailing the couple’s second nuptials as the ‘showbiz wedding of the year’, calling it Sicily’s most high-profile marriage since Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone wed Apollonia Vitelli in 1972 classic The Godfather.
