Today was the 70th Anniversary of John Lennon – it would have been his 70th birthday and a monument to John Lennon was unveiled in Liverpool by his first wife Cynthia (married to him from 1962 – 68) and his son Julian.
Designed as a monument to peace and a shrine for fans visiting Lennon’s home city of Liverpool where he was born in 1940. It consists of a globe to symbolise oneness and the earth, surrounded with various musical imagery in addition to a peace sign – guitar, keyboard, sax, musical notes flowing around the globe and a pair of hands releasing doves of peace into the air above it. It was commissioned by the California based Global Peace Initiative and created by 19 year-old American artist Lauren Voiers.
Julian said: “We come here with our hearts to honour dad and pray for peace and say thank you to each and every one of you and everybody involved in the celebrations today,”and Cynthia added: “I think the mourning is over for John. I think it’s time to celebrate, which is what we’re doing. Think about [anything in] his life that was positive and just enjoy that. Enjoy the joy that he had and that we all have from his music.”
New York fans gathered in Central Park in the area known as “Strawberry Fields” close to the spot where Lennon was shot dead in December 1980.
Above: Google’s logo included an animated tribute to John Lennon on their search pages today