PEOPLE-JOHN LENNON/BANNER Bono and Yoko Ono unveil a giant tapestry in honor of John Lennon

Record ID: 145813

  • Title: PEOPLE-JOHN LENNON/BANNER Bono and Yoko Ono unveil a giant tapestry in honor of John Lennon
  • Date: 30th July 2015
  • Summary: BONO APPROACHING MICROPHONE STAND (SOUNDBITE) (English) BONO, FRONTMAN OF ROCK BAND U2, SAYING: "But this is the very same pose that John Lennon struck while standing on this island all those years ago. It's a famous shot. The Statue of Liberty and John. It's a famous image of a famous immigrant. That's why it's fitting to do this here, because John Lennon was an immigrant
  • Embargoed: 14th August 2015 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9YF5KQK1MLQUZ6DX5JM5FBY51
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Bono and The Edge from rock group U2 along with Yoko Ono unveiled a tapestry in honor of John Lennon on Ellis Island on Wednesday (July 29).
    The event was held on Ellis Island to celebrate Lennon's 40th anniversary of getting his U.S. green card.
    That's why it's fitting to do this here, because John Lennon was an immigrant," Bono said.
    "He didn't sail across the Atlantic in an ocean liner or a yellow submarine. He didn't come in on a third-class ticket looking for a job in Hell's Kitchen. He didn't climb up out of steerage with all his potatoes in a single suitcase. But John Lennon was an immigrant all the same."
    Bono equated the waves of immigrants that once teemed the shores of Ellis Island to the ongoing crisis in Syria.
    "That's how many passed through here, 12 million people," he said.
    "But 12 million also happens to be the number of people dislocated or cast out as refugees by the war that's happening now in and around Syria, interior and exterior displacements, adding up to 12 million. They too are tired and poor, they too are huddled masses yearning to breathe free. But they've got no tickets to anywhere, not even third class, so the question is just as relevant today, are we going to give peace a chance? John Lennon is here and he's still asking that question. He has an answer too, the answer is love."
    John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono expressed her appreciation for the New York City Council declaring it John Lennon Day.
    "I'm sure that John would have felt great to have a special New York day, a summer day, named for him. How great is that?" she said.
    "As John was granted permanent residency in the United States, at that moment, I who was standing next to him heard his heart beating fast. I remember how proud and happy he was."
    Later, inside the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, the group stood in front of a tapestry and posed for photos holding up peace signs as it was unveiled.
    The tapestry, commissioned by Art for Amnesty founder and chair Bill Shipsey in appreciation for giving Amnesty International the rights to record cover versions of Lennon's post-Beatles songs, showed Manhattan as a submarine with Lennon as its pilot, also holding up a peace sign.
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