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Queen opens Montreal Olympics

Broadcast Date: July 17, 1976

Despite fears that her arrival would be protested, the Queen arrived "without incident" yesterday in Montreal. She's in town to open the 1976 Olympics today. The opening ceremony promises to be "emotional and spectacular," according to this CBC radio clip. But the impressive beauty of the ceremony will be in sharp contrast to the controversy that has already plagued these Games before they've even begun – from political arguments and boycotts, to "tighter than tight" security measures and accusations of overspending.

Queen opens Montreal Olympics

• Olympic tradition called for the Queen, as Canada's head of state, to officially open the Games. But in Montreal there was some opposition to her coming, since many French Canadians saw her as "an outsider." Victor Goldbloom, Quebec's minister of environmental and municipal affairs, called the Queen "a very nice person" but said "it is not necessary to have persons from outside open the Olympics." Despite such opposition, there was no visible protest when the Queen opened the Games on July 17, 1976.

• The 1976 Games in Montreal were the first Olympics to be hosted by a Canadian city. Calgary played host to the Winter Olympics of 1988 and Vancouver will host in 2010.
• In the initial planning stages, Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau expected the Games would only cost $310 million, and he believed much of that money could be raised through the sale of Olympic coins, stamps and lottery tickets. In 1973, he declared, "The Montreal Olympics can no more have a deficit than a man can have a baby."

• By the time the Games were over, the costs for the entire event had soared to more than $1.5 billion. More than $1 billion of that was for the Olympic Stadium alone. A subsequent inquiry into the costs put much of the blame on Mayor Drapeau. The report said Drapeau commissioned excessively complex facility designs, he failed to appoint a project manager to supervise the overall construction of the stadium, and he gave too much freedom to Olympic Stadium architect Roger Taillibert.

• Following the tragic massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, security was an extremely high priority for Montreal. The city spent more than $100 million on complex security operations. Most tourists and Montrealers had no complaints. Some, however, were annoyed, especially when it came to heavy security at non-Olympic venues like hotels. "It seems like we're in a police state," said one Montrealer in a July 16, 1976, CBC radio report.

• Taiwan pulled out of the Games the day before they opened because Canada wouldn't allow it to compete under the name Republic of China. The Canadian government had officially recognized the communist People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1970 and severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in the process. (The PRC considers Taiwan to be a territory of China, with the PRC being the sole Chinese government.) When Prime Minister Trudeau said the team had to compete as "Taiwan" rather than "Republic of China," it withdrew.

• More than 22 African nations also pulled out within the first few days of the Games. They were protesting New Zealand's presence, because New Zealand's rugby team had recently toured South Africa which was practising apartheid.

• Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci earned the first ever perfect 10.0 in Olympic gymnastics at these Games. The 14-year-old's performance was a highlight of the 1976 Olympics. An August 1976 Newsweek article stated: "amid the political feuds, cheating scandals and impromptu squabbles that have become semi-official Olympic events, Nadia in flight was Montreal's doll-like symbol of what's still right with the Games."

• Despite the countless pre-Game problems, the spirit of the Games won over many Canadians. At the end of the Games, a Toronto Star headline read "Montreal, we have fallen in love with you again." The article went on to say, "For two weeks, there was something special in our lives and it made many of us younger again, believing."

• The Montreal Olympics ended on Aug. 1, 1976.
• Canada won 11 medals: five silver and six bronze. Canada won no golds, making it the first Olympic host nation to not win any gold medals at its own Games.
• In December 2006, it was announced that the Olympic debt was finally paid off – 30 years after the Montreal Games.

• For a detailed look at the 1976 Olympics, visit the CBC Archives topic The Summer of '76: Montreal's Olympic Games.

Queen opens Montreal Olympics

Medium: Radio

Program: CBC Radio News

Broadcast Date: July 17, 1976

Reporter: Brian Kelleher

Duration: 1:20

Photo: Frank Prazak

Last updated:
March 9, 2008