Imagine Peace Tower shines brighter after renovations

Projects Arts & Culture

Ragnar Th. Sigurðsson
Imagine Peace Tower. Night view of the city with Mount Esja in the background and water in the foreground. Blue tones, with a column on the far right.

Renovations on the Imagine Peace Tower in Viðey have begun. Work is proceeding on schedule and will finish before the tower's lighting on October 9.

The need for renovations on Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace Tower in Viðey has been apparent for some time. The project has two main parts: upgrading technical equipment and repairing the "wishing well" from which the light tower rises and the surrounding platform covered with three types of Icelandic stone.

After a price and competency survey, Italian producers who originally built and installed the technical equipment were contracted for manufacturing and installation. Equipment arrived in Iceland this summer and was transported to Viðey on July 23, where technicians from the company worked on installation through August. The work proceeded as planned, and the equipment has been tested and works well. Museum technicians will fine-tune the beam in late September. Stone paving repairs will start in the coming days and finish before the October 9 lighting.

A timely reminder of the message of peace

After renovations, the Imagine Peace Tower will shine brighter and more focused than before. It will better serve its role as a strong landmark in the city and a timely reminder of the message of peace in the current world situation. The artwork's energy needs will decrease, maintenance will be easier, and annual lighting period adjustments will be simpler.

The current project is funded by the same parties that supported the original creation of the Imagine Peace Tower: City of Reykjavík, Reykjavík Energy, and a fund managed by Yoko Ono. Total cost is estimated at about 33 million króna.

The Imagine Peace Tower in Viðey is an artwork by Yoko Ono, dedicated to her late husband, musician John Lennon. The Imagine Peace Tower is lit annually on his birthday, October 9, and turned off on the anniversary of his death, December 8. Lennon was murdered in 1980.