Photo by Keystone / Getty Images
The 2021 Olympic Games kicked off last night in Tokyo, Japan with a special performance of a beloved 50-year-old tune. During the opening ceremony, John Legend, Keith Urban, and several other notable artists from throughout the world including Alejandro Sanz joined in with the Suginami Children’s Choir. Together they all sang an inspiring rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine, which hits its 50th anniversary this year. The performance perfectly captured the feeling of hope after an emotional last year when the 2020 Olympics were postponed because of the COVID-19 lockdown.
John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono approved of the production of her husband’s iconic 1971 song that encouraged peace amongst the world. Ono retweeted the video and wrote, “IMAGINE. John and I were both artists and we were living together, so we inspired each other. The song ‘Imagine’ embodied what we believed together at the time. John and I met – he comes from the West and I come from the East – and still we are together.”
You can watch a clip here of the performance here.
John Lennon thought Imagine was going to be remembered for 10 years because it was “just a song” but here we are today and it’s much more than that. Today, perhaps more than ever, John is not alone, we all dream the same dream#IMAGINE50 ☁️#Olympics pic.twitter.com/QMwjxfS6Pd
— Mariana #IMAGINE50 ☁️ ((°⍸°))🍏 (@marianabrickman) July 23, 2021
