Imagine Peace Tower

64°9′47.66″N 21°51′34.08″W

Imagine Peace Tower
Imagine Peace Tower with lights on
LocationViðey Island in Kollafjörður Bay near Reykjavík, Iceland
Opening date2007
Dedicated toJohn Lennon

The Imagine Peace Tower (Icelandic: Friðarsúlan [ˈfrɪːðarˌsuːlan], "the peace column") is a memorial to John Lennon from his widow, Yoko Ono, located on Viðey Island in Kollafjörður Bay near Reykjavík, Iceland. Installed in 2007, it consists of a tall tower of light,[1] projected from a white stone monument that has the words "Imagine Peace" carved into it in 24 languages. These words, and the name of the tower, are a reference to Lennon's campaign for peace, and his 1971 song "Imagine".

Description

The Tower consists of 15 searchlights with prisms that act as mirrors, reflecting the column of light vertically into the sky from a 10-metre wide wishing well.[2] It often reaches cloudbase and indeed can be seen penetrating the cloud cover. On a clear night, it appears to reach an altitude of at least 4,000 metres. The power for the lights is provided by Iceland's unique geothermal energy grid.[3] It uses approximately 75 kW of power.

Buried underneath the light tower are over 1 million written wishes that Ono gathered over the years for another project called Wish Trees. Iceland was selected for the project because of its beauty and its eco-friendly use of geothermal energy.[4]

Construction

Construction of the tower started on 9 October 2006, on what would have been Lennon's 66th birthday when Ono dedicated the location, and it was officially unveiled on the same date in 2007. The ceremony was broadcast internationally to numerous television networks. In attendance with Ono were son Sean Lennon, bandmate Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison, widow of George Harrison, and Olivia's son Dhani Harrison. Paul McCartney was invited, but could not attend due to a court case. Ono said on the day of the inauguration that the tower was the best thing that she and John had ever done.

Operation

The tower is lit every year from 9 October, Lennon's birthday, through 8 December, the date he was shot, from 31 December until 6 January (an Icelandic new year period),[5] and for one week around the spring equinox.[6]

On 9 October 2021, it was lit for the 15th time on John Lennon's birthday.[7] The monument was lit on 24 February 2022, with Ono saying the off-season lighting was "to show solidarity with Ukraine and emphasize the call for peace."[8][9]

Languages on the tower
Imagine Peace message.

The words on the tower are written in 24 world languages:

English: IMAGINE PEACESwahili: TUFIKIRIENI AMANI
Japanese: 平和な世界を想像してごらんIcelandic: HUGSA SÉR FRIÐ
Korean: 평화를 꿈꾸자Turkish: BARIŞI DÜŞLE
Chinese: 想像世界有了和平Persian: به صلح بیندیش
Arabic: احلم سلامFilipino: ILARAWAN ANG MUNDONG MAPAYAPA
Portuguese: IMAGINE A PAZTamil: சமாதானத்தை நினையுங்கள்
Russian: ПРЕДСТАВЬТЕ СЕБЕ МИРHungarian: KÉPZELD EL A BÉKÉT
Hindi: शान्ति की कल्पना करेंFinnish: KUVITTELE RAUHA
German: STELL DIR VOR ES IST FRIEDENGeorgian: წარმოიდგინეთ მშვიდობა
Italian: IMMAGINA LA PACEStandard Tibetan: ཞི་བ་སྒོམས་
French: IMAGINEZ LA PAIXHebrew: חלום שלום
Spanish: IMAGINA LA PAZInuktitut: ᓴᐃᒪᖃᑎᒌᑦᑕ

An additional panel reads:

I dedicate this light tower to John Lennon

my love for you is forever

yoko ono

October 9th 2007

See also

References
  1. "Yoko Ono broadcasts global message of peace every night for a month", Leah Dolan (4 March 2022), CNN. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  2. Iceland Imagines Peace Wired. 22 September 2009
  3. Yoko imagines peace on Lennon's birthday", The Age
  4. Helgason, Gudjon (9 October 2007). "Ono to Unveil Peace Tower in Iceland". Excite News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.
  5. is:Þrettándinn
  6. "Friðarsúlan tendruð á ný".
  7. "Imagine Peace Tower to Be Lit Tonight", Vala Hafstað (9 October 2021), Iceland Monitor. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  8. "Artists From Around The Globe Express Concern Over Russian Invasion" (February 2022), American Songwriter. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  9. "Iceland Opens to all Travellers, Including Unvaccinated", Simon Calder (25 February 2022), Independent. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
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