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Montréal 1976

The Opening Ceremonies

Photograph of the Canadian Olympic team's procession, Montr‚al 1976 The opening ceremonies of the first Olympic Games on Canadian soil took place in Montréal, on July 17, 1976. The opening of the Games of the XXI Olympiad was conducted before 73,000 thrilled spectators that had gathered in the Olympic Stadium. The entrance of Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince Andrew elicited a strong reaction from the crowd. The impressive parade of the 94 participating delegations took place to the sound of music entitled March of the Athletes. Following tradition, the Greek delegation came first, and the Canadian delegation, representing the host country, brought up the rear. The names of the participating countries appeared on a display boardPhotograph of crowd watching the delegates enter the Olympic Stadium, Montr‚al 1976 in illuminated letters, in French and English, as they entered the stadium. There were more than 500 people in the Canadian delegation. The delegations took their place on the central lawn, facing the tribune of honour. There were a total of 10,000 athletes and escorts.

An impressive parade of 94 delegations...

The speeches were delivered, in French and English, in accordance with tradition, by the President of the OCOG, Roger Rousseau, and by the President of the IOC, Lord Killanin, after which the Queen declared the official opening of the Games of the XXI Olympiad. The olympic anthem, written by Spirou Samara, signalled the entrance of the olympic flag into the stadium. It was carried by eight athletes and four escorts, symbolizing the ten provinces and two territories of Canada. The flag was hoisted while a choir of Canadians of Greek origin sang the olympic anthem.

Photograph of crowd watching opening ceremonies, Montr‚al 1976
Photograph of two torchbearers beside lit olympic cauldron with crowd in background, Montr‚al 1976
Three cannons in the Olympic Park fired an official salute. To draw attention to the 80th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games, 80 young girls released pigeons. The young girls also represented the retinue of virgins that, according to ancient tradition, accompanied the athletes as far as the gate of the stadium. Next was the entrance of the olympic torch, carried by two young runners -- Sandra Henderson of Toronto and Stéphane Préfontaine of Montréal -- in place of the usual single torchbearer. They symbolized the country's bilingual character. In fact, this was a first in the history of the modern Olympic Games; the tradition of watching a former champion enter the stadium alone has since been abandoned. The cauldron placed in the centre of the stadium was lit.

Photograph showing performers dancing in pairs, dressed in traditional costumes with crowd in background, Montr‚al 1976 Students from schools in Montréal and its suburbs, representing Canadian youth, and gymnasts from various countries performed a ballet together. A judge and an athlete, weightlifter Pierre Saint-Jean, took the oath, followed by the Canadian national anthem. To the applause of the crowd, the opening ceremonies came to an end, and the competitions of the XXI Olympiad began.

Closing Ceremonies

The Games of the XXI Olympiad ended on the evening of August 1, 1976, in the presence of the President of the IOC and Jules Léger, Governor General of Canada. As fanfares rang out, 500 white-cloaked schoolgirls, forming a huge rectangle on the central lawn, performed a choreographic routine before turning their cloaks inside out to form the colours and rings of the olympic flag.

Photograph of a procession of performers dressed in traditional Aboriginal clothing with crowd in background, Montr‚al 1976 To the strains of the March of the Athletes, played in a style that evoked the chants of Canada's First People, a group of 75 Aboriginal people in full dress entered the stadium in arrowhead formation. To underscore the brotherly unity of olympic sports, the athletes entered without being grouped separately by nationality. They were accompanied by over 500 Aboriginal people in festive costumes, and entered the five rings formed by the young women; they then erected tents in the colours of the olympic rings.

The President of the IOC then declared the closing of the Games. The olympic flag was lowered as the farewell song was sung. Eight athletes, led by four others, carried the flag out of the stadium. The olympic flame went out, signalling the end of the Montréal Games. The announcer revealed the location of the next Games -- Moscow. On giant screens, live from Moscow, dancers and singers performed a short number and presented a gigantic candle on the screen. The crowd in the Olympic Stadium then waved lit candles or light sticks as a gesture of friendship. The XXI edition of the Olympic Summer Games came to an end.

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