 John Lennon and Yoko Ono at the first day of their Amsterdam bed-in | |
| Date | March 25–31, 1969 and May 26 – June 1, 1969 |
|---|---|
| Location | Amsterdam, Netherlands and Montreal, Canada |
| Type | Occupation protest |
| Theme | Peace movement |
| Cause | Vietnam War |
| Target | World media and political leaders |
| Organised by | John Lennon and Yoko Ono |
| Participants | Timothy Leary, Tommy Smothers, Derek Taylor, Abraham Feinberg, Dick Gregory, Murray the K, Al Capp, Allen Ginsberg, Paul Williams |
| Outcome |
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A bed-in is a nonviolent protest against wars, initiated by Yoko Ono and her husband John Lennon during a two week period in Amsterdam and Montreal as an experimental test of new ways to promote peace. As the Vietnam War raged in 1969, artist Ono and Lennon held one bed-in protest at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam and one at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. The idea is derived from a "sit-in", in which a group of protesters remain seated in front of or within an establishment until they are evicted, arrested, or their requests are met.
The public proceedings were filmed, and later turned into a documentary Bed Peace, which was made available for free on YouTube in August 2011 by Yoko Ono,[1] as part of her website "Imagine Peace".[2] Other bed-ins have since taken place - the most recent in 2018, when Ono was joined by former Beatle Ringo Starr, actor Jeff Bridges and then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, to participate in a bed-in at New York City Hall.
- ^ "BED PEACE starring John Lennon & Yoko Ono". YouTube. Aug 12, 2011. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
- ^ Yoko Ono Lennon (September 3, 2011). "Watch the film #BEDPEACE starring John Lennon & Yoko Ono ✩✩✩ FREE ✩✩✩". ImaginePeace.com.