1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were held in 1976 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Other candidates in the bid to organise the Olympics were Moscow and Los Angeles. The final choice was made on May 12 1970 on the 69th IOC session. Los Angeles was eliminated in the first round of voting. In the last round, Montreal defeated Moscow, 41 votes to 28 (with one blank vote).

Montreal

The Olympics in Canada

1976 was the first time Canada hosted the Olympics; it has subsequently hosted the Olympics once more, at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and will host the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Coincidentally, Toronto hosted the 1976 Summer Paralympics.

Related Topics:
1988 Winter Olympics - Calgary - 2010 Winter Olympics - Vancouver - Toronto - 1976 Summer Paralympics

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The Olympics in Montreal

Montreal saw the 1976 games as a chance to build on its world prestige that was first rewarded with a World's Fair on Canada's centennial. It used the opportunity to expand its rapid mass transit system (subway) first built for Expo '67, the Metro.

Related Topics:
World's Fair - Metro

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With the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics on everyone's minds, security was topflight for the 1976 games. Montreal 1976 pointed the way to the future in Olympic security, which was further increased for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Related Topics:
Munich Massacre - 1972 Summer Olympics - 2002 Winter Olympics - Salt Lake City

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Montreal massively overspent on the Olympics, following Mayor Jean Drapeau's adage, The Olympics can no more lose money than a man can have a baby. However, with rampant corruption, and lack of financial controls, Montreal did indeed lose money, over $2 billion dollars (US), when it was all said and done. This is known colloquially as the Big Owe. As of 2004, Montreal is still paying off the debt, and the Montreal Olympic Stadium (formerly the home of Major League Baseball's Montreal Expos) is still not complete, and still under construction, needing a new roof, as previous designs have proved inadequate for the climate.

Related Topics:
2004 - Major League Baseball - Montreal Expos

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The Olympics after Montreal

Following the news of the massive financial losses of the Montreal Games, few cities wished to host the Olympics. This was seen as a major threat to the future of the Olympic Games, and was not until the financially successful 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles that cities began to line up to be hosts again. The Los Angeles and Montreal Games are seen as examples of what to do and not to do when organizing the Olympics, and serve as object lessons to prospectant host cities. Since then, additional object lessons have been drawn from Atlanta in 1996 (the need to avoid commercialization) and Athens in 2004 (the need to organize and build to schedule).

Related Topics:
1984 Summer Olympics - Los Angeles - Atlanta in 1996 - Athens in 2004

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