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Artist News Awards
Yoko Ono made Honorary Citizen of Reykjavík
By Chris Cooke | Published on Thursday 10 October 2013
Yoko Ono has been made an Honorary Citizen of Reykjavík, which might not sound that impressive, but only four other people have ever been given the honour, and they were all native to Iceland. The award has been presented in part in recognition of Ono’s decision to build a memorial to her late husband John Lennon, the Imagine Peace Tower, near the Icelandic capital. The monument (a tower of light) opened in 2007.
Confirming the Honorary Citizen accolade, Reykjavík mayor Jón Gnarr told reporters: “With her outstanding work Yoko Ono has pointed the light of peace to Reykjavík. It is therefore a great honour to award her with the title honorary citizen of Reykjavík. Yoko’s contribution to peace and human rights issues in the world is unique. Imagine Peace Tower has been immensely valuable for Reykjavík. The LennonOno Grant For Peace ceremony also is now held biennially in Reykjavík. We have the wish that the city be permanently lit as a city of peace and human rights”.
On receiving the honour, Ono said: “Thank you for making me an honorary citizen of Reykjavik. It is indeed a great honour. It gives me an immense encouragement to continue doing good work. John and I believed in Nutopia, which would make all of us citizens of the world. But inside the world, there is a land of our hearts that is shining with warmth, truth and beauty called Iceland. Each time I visit the land, I am reminded of what is essential and therefore most important in life. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being you”.
