On this day in 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono began their Bed-in for Peace in Amsterdam

 As the Vietnam War raged on, Lennon and Yoko realised that their wedding on March 20 would attract huge media attention, and that they could use that attention to bring the public’s focus to a worthy cause: peace. The decision was made to stay in bed for a week for their honeymoon, and field questions from the press from 9am to 9pm each day.

The pair set up a room in the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel with signs above them reading “Bed Peace” and “Hair Peace” along with multiple bouquets of flowers. After promoting the event as a love-in and with the recent release of nude photographs by the pair, some press expected to find the couple engaging in conjugal acts but were surprised to find them dressed conservatively in full pajamas buttoned to the top, and ready to discuss and promote peace.

The Amsterdam Bed-in was such a success it spawned a follow-up in Montreal, organised in part by Ritchie Yorke, where the renowned “Give Peace A Chance” anthem was recorded. The pair then went on to plan a larger scale campaign for peace with press conferences, meetings with world leaders and the famous “War Is Over!” poster promotion.