The gathering in December 1989 took place in the euphoric atmosphere of the Velvet Revolution. It was officially organized by the John Lennon Peace Club (the “Club”), which was established the previous year. However, the Socialist Youth Union also presented itself as the organizer of the event. It was a massive gathering of a record-breaking number of people. Speakers and singers were able to perform here for the first time without intervention of the State or Public Security.
The Lennon Wall was given back to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta as part of their palace. At the beginning of 1990, they removed billboards from the Wall. New messages soon appeared over the remains of old inscriptions, this time also from foreign tourists who have found the Lennon Wall in most guide books.
In the late 1990s, the Order of Malta decided to renovate the dilapidated Lennon Wall. The Prague Monument Care Department wanted it to remain white and let it overgrow with ivy to discourage vandals from spraying. Nevertheless, the owner in agreement with the Club wanted to preserve the freedom of speech that the Lennon Wall had always symbolized.
The painter František Flašar then made a portrait of John Lennon on the reconstructed Wall. A multilingual sign was supposed to be placed next to it, asking people to draw only flowers on the Wall.
In July 1998, the Club organized a painting happening at the Wall. In addition to flowers, the participants also drew yellow submarines, lyrics of Beatles songs etc. The Club also organized the annual gathering by the Wall that year, with a performance of a Beatles and Lennon tribute band. However, the official organization bothered many participants and did not suit the event. Since then the gatherings at the Lennon Wall usually took place spontaneously once again, without any official organization.
