YOKO ONO WILL PAY HER ANNUAL VISIT TO ICELAND THIS OCTOBER, TO ILLUMINATE IMAGINE PEACE TOWER ON JOHN LENNON’S BIRTHDAY, MONDAY 9 OCTOBER

 

Yoko will be paying her annual visit to Iceland this October, to signal the illumination of Imagine Peace Tower in memory of John Lennon on Monday 9th October - his birthday. The illumination will be at 9 pm. Yoko Ono will address guests in Viðey from Höfði which is best known as the location for the 1986 summit meeting of presidents Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbatsjov, a historical event that effectively marked the end of the Cold War

 

Located on the Icelandic island of Videy, Imagine Peace Tower is an outdoor work of art conceived by Yoko. It was dedicated to John by Yoko at its unveiling on October 9th 2007, John Lennon’s 67th birthday. Each year since then Yoko has travelled to Iceland to illuminate the vast tower of light – and it remains lit from October 9th until the day of Lennon’s death, December 8th.

 

Yoko Ono says: “Iceland is such a spiritual place - I always feel such a strong energy when I return there. Love, peace, understanding and the power of nature are easy to forget in today’s fast-paced modern life. In Iceland, particularly on Videy, it becomes easier to remember how important these things are to us all and to the planet. John would have loved it.”

 

The biennial Lennon Ono Grant For Peace was inaugurated in 2002. Past recipients of the grant have included artists, writers, musicians, philanthropists and activists such as Lady Gaga, Pussy Riot, Ai Weiwei, Zvi Goldstein, Jeremy Gilley and more. Entire organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières have also been awarded.