The inauguration of the Imagine Peace Tower took place during a private ceremony on 9th October 2007 on Videy island, Reykjavík, Iceland.
The Imagine Peace Tower is lit every year from October 9th through to December 8th, from sunset to midnight. It is also lit on New Year’s Eve and in spring the tower is lit from sunset to midnight during Easter week.
The Imagine Peace Tower is a work of art conceived by the legendary artist, musician and peace advocate Yoko Ono as a beacon to world peace. The work is in the form of a wishing well from which a strong and tall tower of light emerges. The words ‘Imagine Peace’ are inscribed on the well in 24 world languages.
The light tower is composed of a number of individual lights that join together to form a single beam. Six of the lights travel through corridors across a platform that surrounds the well and are reflected upwards to the sky with mirrors. The strength, intensity and brilliance of the light tower continually changes as the particles in the air fluctuate with the prevailing weather and atmospheric conditions unique to Iceland.
The artwork has been dedicated to the memory of John Lennon on what would have been his 67th birthday.
Every year the Imagine Peace Tower will emerge between 9th October (Lennon’s birthday) and 8th December (the day of his death). In addition the Imagine Peace Tower will emanate on New Year’s Eve, during the first week of spring and on some rare special occasions agreed on by the artist and the City of Reykjavík. The electricity for the light comes entirely from Reykjavik Energy, which produces the electricity from geothermal power.
The construction and installation of the Imagine Peace Tower is done in collaboration between Yoko Ono, the City of Reykjavik, Reykjavik Art Museum and Reykjavik Energy.
“I hope the Imagine Peace Tower will give light to the strong wishes of World Peace from all corners of the planet and give encouragement, inspiration and a sense of solidarity in a world now filled with fear and confusion. Let us come together to realise a peaceful world.”
Yoko Ono
