ICELAND: Lighting ceremony in memory of John Lennon on what would have been his 70th birthday

Record ID: 349340

  • Title: ICELAND: Lighting ceremony in memory of John Lennon on what would have been his 70th birthday
  • Date: 18th October 2010
  • Summary: REYKJAVIK, ICELAND (OCTOBER 9, 2010) (REUTERS) ***CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PEOPLE GOING ONTO BOAT TO ATTENT EVENT IN MEMORY OF JOHN LENNON PEOPLE QUEUING FOR BOAT PEOPLE GOING ON BOAT PEOPLE IN LINE FOR BOAT / ISLAND IN BACKGROUND PEOPLE IN LINE PEOPLE ON BOAT ISLAND / PEOPLE IN FOREGROUND
  • Embargoed: 2nd November 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iceland
  • Country: Iceland
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVAB31JEUC20LHFK3QZVPWZ5LUXP
  • Story Text: Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr and other family and friends attend a lighting ceremony in memory of John Lennon on what would have been his 70th birthday.
    Yoko Ono was joined by her son Sean Lennon and ex-Beatle's Ringo Starr near Reykjavik to commemorate John Lennon on what would have been his 70th birthday on Saturday (October 9).
    Artist and musician Ono's artwork the Image Peace Tower created in memory of John Lennon was lit at an outdoor ceremony at Videy island just outside of Iceland's capital on Saturday.
    The Imagine Peace Tower, consisting of searchlights reflected upward high into the sky, was unveiled in 2007 by Ono to symbolize wisdom, healing and joy.
    "It's a message of peace, basically, that it keeps going, that's the kind of objective of the ceremony," Thorbjorg Sigurvinsdottir, who attended the ceremony said.
    Lighting of the artwork has become an annual event in Iceland's capital. On the date of Lennon's 70th birthday his and Ono's son Sean Lennon and Ex-Beatle's Ringo Starr watched the event.
    The Imagine Peace Tower is visible in Reykjavik from October 9th till December 8th the date of Lennon's death.
    The ceremony was one of several events being held around the world to celebrate one of pop music's most influential singers and songwriters who was murdered in New York in 1980 at the age of 40.
    In Lennon's birthplace Liverpool his ex-wife Cynthia and first son Julian unveiled a $350,000 18-foot monument, designed to promote peace, while Manhattan planned a benefit concert.
    As one half of the songwriting partnership in the Beatles alongside Paul McCartney, Lennon was responsible for much of the band's catalogue, including seminal hits like "She Loves You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "A Hard Day's Night."
    The band is widely credited as being the most successful in pop history, and Lennon went on to make his mark as a solo artist after the group split in 1970 with classic songs including "Imagine".
    Later in the evening Ono and her son Sean in the Plastic Ono Band joined specially invited guests for a tribute concert in Reykjavik.
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