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Thousands join Yoko Ono to form peace sign

Thousands of people joined Yoko Ono and tried to set a world record for largest group of human bodies forming a peace sign.

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People show the peace sign as they gather to form a giant peace symbol on the East Meadow of New York's Central Park, Oct. 6, 2015. Radhika Chalasani for CBS News

The record attempt to honor Ono's husband, John Lennon, didn't succeed. Still, the Central Park crowd celebrated the upcoming birthday of the late Beatle. Lennon would have turned 75 on Friday.

A Guinness World Records representative says Tuesday's effort brought together more than 2,000 people. But Guinness said 5,000 or more needed to turn out for an official record.

Lennon was assassinated in 1980 at his apartment building on Manhattan's west side just across from the park.

"New York was a very special place for John--his adopted home -- and I'm so happy that the John Lennon Bus is there to celebrate his 75th birthday," Ono said in a statement.

The crowd included everyone from aging hippies to schoolchildren not yet born when Lennon died.

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