John Lennon would have been 80 today. It’s difficult to imagine what he would have done in the years since his death in 1980. Most of us, though, will have heard about the time he and artist Yoko Ono gave some of their honeymoon over to promoting the idea of peace. After getting married on the 20th March 1969 in Gibraltar, the couple staged perhaps the most perfect of publicity stunts in Amsterdam and Montreal from their hotel bed.
Hilton Hotel, Amsterdam
The first week-long bed-in took place at the Presidential Suite of the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam from 25-31 March 1969 with a dozen or so journalists turning up to see what would happen. The expectation was that the couple would be naked and hold some kind of love-in but, instead, they wore white bedclothes and had a bed-in to protest against war. You can now stay in the John and Yoko suite, a room for 2, complete with memorabilia, from €2000 a night – a bargain for some, a once-in-a-lifetime treat for others.
Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montreal
Here, they spent a week in Suite 1742 from 26 May – 1 June . During this week they composed and recorded Give Peace A Chance on 1 June. They were visited by Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary who contributed to the recording. Suite 1742 is now dedicated to John Lennon and Yoko Ono complete with a commemorative tactile art installation by MASSIVart. This won the 2020 CODA award for best hospitality art project. A second bedroom in the suite is inspired by Yoko Ono’s Half-A-Room 1967 artwork at MoMa. Check availability and prices (around CAD$2000) at the John Lennon and Yoko Ono Suite which sleeps 4.
