John Lennon Statue in Almería, Spain

The John Lennon statue in Almería is a bronze by the Jaén sculptor Carmen Mudarra, now in Plaza Flores in the old town. Almería City Council commissioned it in 2006 and unveiled it in March 2007. It shows Lennon at 26 playing a guitar, because in the autumn of 1966 he began writing Strawberry Fields Forever while living in Almería.

Why Almería honours Lennon

Lennon came to Almería in the autumn of 1966 to play Gripweed in Richard Lester's film How I Won the War. The shoot had already been in Germany, where a memorial in Verden marks the location. He turned 26 in Almería on 9 October 1966, with Cynthia and Ringo Starr's family staying there as well. Between September and October he started work on "Strawberry Fields Forever" and recorded its first demo. The Beatles began recording the song at EMI Studios in London on 24 November 1966.

He was living at the Santa Isabel estate at the time. The house was later restored and is now the Casa del Cine, Almería's film museum. The Almería part of the story became widely known after the journalist Javier Adolfo Iglesias researched it in 1999. It later inspired David Trueba's 2013 film Vivir es fácil con los ojos cerrados, which won the Goya for best film.

The song itself is about Liverpool, not Spain. Its title comes from Strawberry Field, a Salvation Army children's home in Woolton, where Lennon played in the garden as a boy. That place has its own page: Strawberry Field, Liverpool.

The bronze and its plaque

In May 2006 the City Council gave the commission to Carmen Mudarra. She made a bronze about 1.8 metres tall showing Lennon as he looked at 26. He sits playing a Spanish guitar and wears glasses and the military jacket from his Gripweed role. The plaque, in Spanish, is dedicated to John Lennon, who composed Strawberry Fields Forever during his stay in Almería in 1966.

Some reports name a second sculptor. elDiario.es credits José María Jurado and Carmen Mudarra together, while the 2007 coverage names Mudarra alone.

From the Rambla to Plaza Flores

The statue was first put in place on the Rambla Federico García Lorca on 17 February 2007, according to reports at the time. Sources differ slightly on the ceremony date, giving either 3 or 4 March 2007. The guests included Mudarra, Joaquín "Chipo" Martínez of the John Lennon Almería Forever association, and Juan Carrión.

Vandals damaged the statue several times on the Rambla. After repairs, the city moved it to Plaza Flores in the historic centre, opposite the Hotel Nuevo Torreluz. A Teleprensa headline dates the move to November 2010. The new spot is not the Casa del Cine, which is a separate place to visit.

The city still holds events around the statue. On 9 October 2025 a tribute concert in Plaza Flores opened the first Jornadas John Lennon en Almería, which ran until 11 October.