Dua Lipa and Callum Turner (back) celebrate their (upcoming?) wedding in Palermo.Image: Getty Images Europe
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Celebrity wedding in Sicily: Singer Dua Lipa and actor Callum Turner are in an exuberant mood this weekend. The residents, on the other hand, don’t see it so rosily.
June 6, 2026, 9:55 p.mJune 6, 2026, 9:55 p.m
Pop star Dua Lipa and actor Callum Turner are celebrating a big party on the Italian Mediterranean island this weekend with more than 200 guests. At the start in the old town of Palermo, the 30-year-old appeared in a shoulder-free dress all in white and with a deep neckline at the back. With Turner, who was six years older than her – wearing a suit, white shirt, no tie – she danced in the open air to the sounds of a brass band. The two didn’t let the numerous paparazzi bother them. The celebrations are scheduled to last until Sunday.
Lipa (“Don’t Start Now”, “Houdini”) and Turner (“The Boys in the Boat”, “Fantastic Beasts”) have been a couple since January 2024. They announced their engagement last summer (Watson reported). The wedding is supposed to already on Sunday took place in a small circle in the old town hall in the London district of Marylebone. Turner is also repeatedly considered one of the candidates for the Successor to Daniel Craig as James Bond traded. The British tabloids are talking about the “wedding of the year”.
Spectacular staging
The start on Friday evening was in the island’s capital Palermo several places in the center were completely cordoned off. A few vintage cars stood around the opulently laid out tables between the baroque buildings – like in a film set. According to media reports, the guests also included celebrities such as fashion designer Donatella Versace and singers Charli xcx and Olivia Dean. Elton John, with whom Dua Lipa had the world number one hit “Cold Heart”, is also expected at the celebrations.
Palermo was the filming location for various cinema classics, including the mafia epic “The Godfather” (here the Teatro Massimo from “The Godfather III”).Image: www.imago-images.de
On Saturday the party moved on to the neighboring town of Bagheria. There the couple rented the 18th century baroque villa Valguarnera, where the Netflix series “The Leopard” was filmed. This is also the name of the classic film by Luchino Visconti, which takes place in Palermo. But the mafia has also established itself as an international figurehead for the city. Mafia souvenirs are still popular souvenirs for many foreign tourists today.
Residents protest against barriers
The couple is staying in a five-star hotel in Palermo. The Italian business newspaper “Il Sole 24 Ore” estimates the cost of the party at a total of around four million euros. Several restaurateurs and other business people reported strict confidentiality clauses. There are also protests in the city against the celebrity parade. Slogans such as “Palermo is not for rent” or “Our piazza is not your living room” can be read on posters and stickers.
Image: https://www.imago-images.de/
Behind the protests is a citizens’ initiative called APRO Palermo, which also opposes mass tourism. An innkeeper, Francesco Costanzo, complained to the Ansa news agency about the many barriers: “People don’t come by, not even on foot. On a global level, this is a nice showcase and can bring tourists to Palermo. But at the moment it is causing problems.”
Mayor is happy about image advertising
Mayor Roberto Lagalla, on the other hand, sees the party as great image advertising. The city of 630,000 inhabitants is not yet known for celebrity weddings – unlike Venice, for example. Another celebrity couple celebrated their big wedding there a year ago: Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez. They made headlines around the world in June 2025 with the long party weekend in the lagoon city. Because the couple flaunted their wealth a lot and at the same time hermetically seal off all locations of the celebration there was a lot of criticism.
George Clooney and Bastian Schweinsteiger had also previously married in Venice (their respective partners, editor’s note). Florence, in turn, was the choice of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in 2014. (sda/dpa/jul)