The estimated cost of the Imagine Peace Tower, which the artist Yoko Ono plans to establish on Videy island off Reykjavík, has tripled as revealed Monday. Ono announced she will cover part of the excess costs herself.
The original cost estimation was ISK 30 million (USD 472,000, EUR 354,000) which Reykjavík City and Reykjavík Energy Company (OR) had agreed to cover. It has now become clear that establishing the tower will cost about ISK 100 million (USD 1.6 million, EUR 1.2 million), Fréttabladid reports.
Ono, who created the project to honor the memory of her late husband, the Beatle John Lennon, has announced that she is willing to cover ISK 70 million (USD 1.1 million, EUR 826,000) herself.
The final execution of Ono’s project was presented and accepted at the Reykjavík Culture and Tourism Council on Monday and will now be taken into estimation by Reykjavík City Urban Planning Council and the Environment Council.
“We aim to finish the tower [of light] before John Lennon’s birthday in October. The tower will shine continuously until the day he died in December,” said Jóhannes Bárdarson, a representative of the Reykjavík City Culture Council.
According to Bárdarson, the tower of light will only shine on specific times, like during Easter. The light will be very strong and reach up to the sky, Bárdarson said.
Click here to read more about Yoko Ono’s visits to Iceland and the Imagine Peace Tower.
