Montreal (CANADA) (AFP)

From May 26 to June 2, 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono spend their honeymoon in pajamas in a Queen Elizabeth suite in Montreal, receive the press, record "Give peace a chance" in the Vietnam war: 50 years later , the hotel celebrates this legendary "bed-in" with a series of festivities.

"We still talk about it 50 years later, but at the time we did not know at all the impact that would have," says AFP Joanne Papineau, spokesman for the Montreal establishment.

"When the couple left, for years we did not talk about the bed-in, but then John was murdered, other wars continued," she continues. "People wanted to see where that happened, they found meaning to what they had done many years later."

For a week, Lennon and Ono, in pajamas from morning to night, will receive in their suite journalists from around the world, who interview them sitting on their bed. Fans and artists will also follow in a good-natured atmosphere and with a simple message: no to the Vietnam War.

In a merry chaos and with limited technical means, Lennon composes and records on this occasion a first version of his famous hymn to peace "Give peace a chance". Choirs, sometimes approximate, are provided by artists and journalists present. She will then be remixed in the studio.

"This is certainly one of the most influential and influential songs of contemporary music," said the spokesperson for the festivities, host Geneviève Borne, who was speaking in pajamas during a press conference Thursday. "This bed-in for peace was one of the first acts of activism by artists."

- "Lennon changed my life" -

With a photo exhibition, guided tours of the famous 1742 suite, a "hippie" evening or a concert for peace, the Fairmount Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Quebec City will launch a series of events on Saturday to tell the story of her bedroom. most famous.

An exhibition dedicated to the works of the widow of the Beatles singer, murdered by an unbalanced fan in New York in 1980, is also proposed until September by the Phi Foundation.

At Queen Elizabeth, John Lennon and Yoko Ono rented several rooms that have since been combined into a 130-square-meter suite that has been completely refurbished while recreating the 1969 version. "Bed peace" inscribed on the glass behind the big white bed, vintage phone that lets you hear Lennon's voice, vintage TV that retransmits archive footage of the event, and so on.

Carmel Massé, a 57-year-old Canadian fan of the Beatles in general, and John Lennon in particular, booked the suite for the night from Sunday to Monday.

"Lennon has changed my life," he told AFP. "When I saw John Lennon bearded in Montreal, with his guru side and Jesus Christ, his journey intrigued me". His pacifist message seduced and inspired him.

"To rent this suite is as if I said thank you 50 years later, for making me a better person."

? 2019 AFP