50th anniversary of the Montréal Olympic Games

At the 69th session of the International Olympic Committee held in Amsterdam in May 1970, Montréal – a city with a rich sports history – was awarded the Games of the XXI Olympiad over competing bids from Moscow and Los Angeles. 

Construction of Olympic Stadium – designed by French architect Roger Taillibert – began in earnest but cost overruns were amplified by labour union strikes. In addition, tight security at the Montréal Olympics cost $100 million following the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

Despite these major economic and logistic challenges, the Montréal Summer Olympics welcomed 6,084 athletes from 92 nations. The Olympic facilities became Montréal landmarks and many today are still used for training and competition.

The opening ceremony of the Montréal Olympics was held at the incomplete Olympic Stadium on July 17 before 73,000 spectators, including Canadian Head of State Queen Elizabeth in the Royal Box. The Queen was accompanied by other Royals, including Princess Anne who was also an equestrian competing at the Games for the British equestrian team. Other dignitaries in attendance included Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. 

An estimated half-billion people worldwide watched the opening ceremony on television. During the ceremony, much of the music performed for the parade was arranged by Montréal jazz icon Vic Vogel who grew up during Montréal’s fabled Sin-City era when the city was home to one of the hottest jazz scenes on the planet.

During the Games, many Olympic delegations partied at The Lime Light, the iconic disco that rivaled Studio 54 in New York City and helped establish Montréal as disco’s Second City.

Many athletes set world records, notably the star of the Games, 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci who scored a “perfect 10” on the uneven bars, the first gymnast in history to score a perfect 10. Comaneci won three gold medals, plus a silver and bronze, with a total seven perfect scores.

Soviet weightlifter Vasily Alekseyev also won gold; Alberto Juantorena of Cuba became the first man to win both the 400-metre and 800-metre finals at the same Olympics; Trinidad and Tobago track star Hasely Crawford won gold for winning the 100-metre final in a time of 10.06; decathlete Caitlyn Jenner won gold with a then-world record 8,618 points; the American dream-team of Sugar Ray Leonard, Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks, Leo Randolph and Howard Davis Jr. won gold medals in boxing; and 16-year-old future gold medalist Greg Louganis won silver for the 10m Platform event in Men’s Diving.

Other memorable champions included the Japanese women’s volleyball team who won all their matches in straight sets, while women’s events in basketball, rowing and team handball all made their Olympic début. Also, hockey was played on an artificial pitch for the first time.

There were 198 medal events. The Soviet Union won 49 gold and 125 overall medals, finishing first in the medal standings. Canada finished with five silver and six bronze medals.