Model of monument to John Lennon unveiled at Shanghai Expo

English.news.cn 2010-06-16 07:16:39

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SHANGHAI, June 15 (Xinhua) -- A spectacular hand-painted scale model of a peace monument to John Lennon, English singer-songwriter and one of the founding members of the Beatles, was unveiled at the Liverpool Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo on Tuesday evening.

The model is about one meter tall, and the finished monument, which cost 350,000 U.S. dollars to create, will stand 18 ft (5.4864 meters) tall, 11 ft (3.3528 meters) wide, and weigh 4.5 tonnes. The monument will be made from a mixture of brushed aluminum, acrylic and an indestructible coating to stave off the weather.

Named ' Peace and Harmony' , the monument features a pair of hands mounted on a globe surrounded by a guitar and music notes. On top of the monument a number of pigeons fly out from the hands with one of the birds holding a white feather in its beak.

John Lennon's son, Julian Lennon, will unveil the final monument in Liverpool, UK, in October as part of the city's two-month season of events to commemorate Lennon' s 70th birthday and the 30th anniversary of his death.

The monument will be presented at the world' s leading permanent Beatles-themed museum and visitors' attraction, the Beatles Story in Liverpool, UK, and will be located in a significant position within the city.

Created by young American artist Lauren Voiers, the monument will act as a counterbalance to the Strawberry Fields memorial in New York' s Central Park, said Jerry Goldman, managing director of the Beatles Story.

Although fans flock to the famous memorial in New York where Lennon was killed, a similar spot has never been designated in Liverpool, Lennon's hometown, to commemorate his life.

Speaking from a pre-recorded video clip, Julian Lennon said he had requested the design of the monument incorporate a White Feather, symbolizing both his father' s spirit and peace.

"One of the things my father said to me was that should he pass away, if there was some way of letting me know he was going to be ok, it was by, in some shape or form, presenting me with a white feather," said Julian Lennon.

Speaking at the Tuesday evening's ceremony held in the Liverpool Pavilion, Goldman said, "The Shanghai World Expo is a perfect place to give the world a glimpse of this new global peace monument to John Lennon."

"We' ve long needed a place of pilgrimage in John' s hometown for people wishing to remember one of the world' s most influential icons, complementing the Strawberry Fields memorial in New York," he added.