1976 Summer Olympics - Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony of the 1976 Summer Olympic Games was held on Saturday, July 17, 1976 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The ceremony marked the opening of the Games of the XXI Olympiad, the first Olympics ever held in Canada (the country would later host the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary and the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver).

Following an air show by the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Snowbirds flying squad in the sunny skies above the stadium, the ceremony officially began at 3:00 pm with a trumpet fanfare and the arrival of Queen Elizabeth II (as head of state for Canada, she would open the Games). The Queen was accompanied by Michael Morris, Lord Killanin, President of the International Olympic Committee, and was greeted to an orchestral rendition of ‘O Canada’, an arrangement that for many years later would be used in schools across the country as well as in the daily sign off of the CBC’s broadcast.

The Queen also entered the Royal Box with her consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and her son, Prince Andrew (her daughter, Princess Anne, was a competitor for the team from Great Britain). She joined a number of Canadian and Olympic dignitaries, including: Jules Leger, Governor General of Canada, and his wife, Gabrielle; Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau and wife, Margaret; Robert Bourassa, Premier of the Province of Quebec; Roger Rousseau, chief of the Montreal Olympic Organizing Committee (COJO); Sheila Dunlop, Lady Killanin, wife of the IOC President; Mayor of Montreal, Jean Drapeau, and his wife, Marie-Claire.

The parade of athletes began moments later with the arrival of the Greek team and concluded with the entrance of the Canadian team some time later. All other teams entered the stadium according to French alphabetical order. Although they would eventually boycott the Games in the days to follow, a number of African delegations did march in the parade. Much of the music performed for the parade was arranged by Vic Vogel and was inspired by late Quebec composer, André Mathieu.

Immediately following the parade, a troupe of 80 women dancers dressed in white (representing the 80th anniversary of the revival of the Olympic Games) performed a brief dance in the outline of the Olympic rings.

Following that came the official speeches, first by Roger Rousseau, head of the Montreal Olympic organizing committee, and Lord Killanin. Her Majesty was then invited to proclaim the Games open, which she did, first in French, then in English.

Accompanied by the Olympic Hymn, the Olympic flag was carried into the stadium and hoisted at the west end of the stadium. The flag was carried by eight men and hoisted by four women, representing the ten provinces and two territories (at the time) of Canada. As the flag was hoisted, an all-male choir performed an a cappella version of the Olympic Hymn.

Once the flag was unfurled, a troupe of Bavarian dancers, representing Munich, host of the previous Summer Olympics, entered the stadium with the Antwerp Flag. Following a brief dance, that flag was then passed from the Mayor of Munich to the IOC President and then to the Mayor of Montreal. Next came a presentation of traditional Québécois folk dancers. The two troupes merged in dance together to the strains of “Vive le Compagnie” and exited the stadium with the Antwerp Flag, which would be displayed at Montreal City Hall until the opening of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Three cannons were then fired, as the 80-member troupe of female dancers unfolded special crates that released doves and ribbons in the five Olympic colours.

Another trumpet fanfare announced the arrival of the Olympic Flame. The torch was carried by two 15 year olds, Stéphane Préfontaine and Sandra Henderson, chosen as representatives of the unity within Canada’s linguistic heritage. This would also be the first time two people would light the Olympic flame, and Henderson would become only the second woman to do the honours. The duo would make a lap of the stadium and then climbed a staircase on a special dais at the center of the stadium to set the Olympic flame alight in a temporary white aluminum cauldron. The flame was later transported to a more permanent cauldron just outside the running track to burn throughout the duration of the Games. A choir then performed the Olympic Cantata as onlookers admired the Olympic flame.

Then, the ‘Youth of Canada’ took to the track to perform a colourful choreographed segment with flags, ribbons and a variety of rhythmic gymnast performers.

The flag bearers of each team then circled around the speaker’s dais as Pierre Saint-Jean recited the Athletes’ Oath and Maurice Forger recited the Judges’ Oath, with right hand over the heart and the Canadian flag clutched in the left.

Finally, a rousing choral performance of ‘O Canada’ in both French and English marked the close of the Opening Ceremony, as the announcers concluded with a declaration of ‘Vive les Jeux de Montreal! Long Live the Montreal Games’.

The Montreal ceremony would be the last of its kind, as future Olympic ceremonies, beginning with the 1980 Moscow Games, would become more focused on theatrical, cultural and artistic presentations and less on formality and protocol.

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