6: The Opening
99 Red Balloons for World Love in Times SquareAt the end of the video you see the photographer Adrian Müller taking the picture below.
So it happend that the project took place on May 1st 2003. We had our great opening on Times Square with 99 red Balloons, Lovepostcards, and a giant Billboard. The 99 Ballons where distributed to people on the street with the wish, that they would write a love message and then let it fly together into the Manhattan Sky. At the end it worked with a small group, most people where to busy waiting, and thats what you see in the video…
In a way this LOVE in Times Square was also symbolicly put into the hurting heart of this city to give it some healing power after 9/11.
At the same time George W. Bush announced mission accomplished on a big destroyer somewhere in the ocean. What a funny coincidence. While I had to postpone my mission to this date, he allready accomplished his.
The only ressonance we got that day, was a reporter from swissinfo.org who did a story online and later on we got a fullpage in the Scarlsdays News, because Larry was teaching in that city. The New York Times didn’t see an importance to write about it, and even the local newspaper in my hometown lucerne didn’t write about it until a half year later. Well, the timing was off…
For me it was still an sucess. I made it happen, concered my personal fears, and turned parts of my idea into reality, that made me proud. It didnt reach the world, this expectations was not met, but it still reached a lot of people, and if not a message of peace was recieved, than for shure it was profen that one person (with help from its friends) can challenge himself and go pretty far with his wish for love and peace.
The Images below are mostly from Adrian Müller.
