John Lennon Statue

A seven-foot, one-tonne bronze statue of John Lennon was unveiled on March 16, 2002, by Yoko Ono and Cherie Booth QC at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, which had been renamed in Lennon's honour the previous year, 21 years after his murder in New York City. The airport adopted the motto 'Above us, only sky' -- a lyric from 'Imagine' -- painted on the terminal roof. The statue was sculpted by Liverpool artist Tom Murphy and positioned on the principal walkway overlooking the check-in hall. The renaming and the statue were significant civic acts of remembrance for a city that had produced Lennon and, for decades, been more ambivalent about that fact than the rest of the world.

John Winston Ono Lennon was born in Liverpool on October 9, 1940. He co-founded The Beatles with Paul McCartney and pursued a solo career after the band's break-up that produced Imagine, Plastic Ono Band, and other landmark records. He was shot and killed outside his home at the Dakota building in New York City on December 8, 1980, aged 40. Liverpool John Lennon Airport occupies the former RAF Speke airfield approximately eight miles south of the city centre.

The airport continues to operate as a commercial facility. The Lennon statue was temporarily displaced in May 2023 when the airport installed a sculpture of Sam Ryder to mark Liverpool hosting the Eurovision Song Contest; visitors with a specific interest in seeing the Lennon statue should confirm current arrangements with the airport before travelling. The terminal's Lennon-themed branding and the 'Above us, only sky' motto remain in place.