Montreal’s Queen Elizabeth Hotel has added a peace symbol to its emblematic logo to honour the 50th anniversary of John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s 1969 bed-in protest.
The peace symbol replaces the “O” on the French language sign and the “Q” on the English one, days ahead of what will be the 50th anniversary of the now-famous bed-in.
On May 26, 1969, Beatles member John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono flew to Montreal… And stayed in bed for 7 days! They occupied rooms 1738, 1740, 1742 and 1744 of the hotel during to pretest peacefully against the Vietnam War. The rooms are now collectively known as Suite 1742.
The CBC conducted interviews from the suite, and André Perry famously recorded a large group of said guests singing Lennon’s song “Give Peace A Chance”.
To this day, those rooms have great cultural significance in music and politics. For Montreal in particular, the room is a kind of “mecca” where Beatles fans often converge. The hotel is offering tours of Suite 1742 this week to mark the 50th anniversary of this important event.
A benefit concert for Amnesty International is also being held on May 30, featuring Beyries, Geneviève Borne, Kevin Parent, Yann Perreau and others.