» How Did Montreal Get Its Big O? The History of the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal How Did Montreal Get Its Big O? The History of the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal History Lessons In order to commemorate the closing of the XXX Olympic Games in London, we here at The Main MTL would like to rewind that tape deck of yours, back to an era where rock n’ roll reigned supreme. In 1976, our beloved Montreal became the first Canadian city to host the Olympic Games – a feat they completed in memorable fashion. In a number of ways, the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal was cast in a dark shadow from the very beginning. First off, in part to prevent an international outbreak, the IOC awarded Montreal the honour in 1970, granting them victory over the two remaining superpowers. Additionally, due to fear of unpopularity amongst sovereignists, Premier of Quebec Robert Bourassa sent a letter to Canadian Monarch Queen Elizabeth II, asking her to formally decline Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s invitation to attend the games. Needless to say, his request was denied.

Furthermore, an African boycott involving 22 sovereign nations was spawned in reaction to the New Zealand rugby team’s tour of apartheid South Africa. Taiwan, then known as the Republic of China, was denied permission to participate under that name, as Canada had already officially recognized the People’s Republic of China. The combination of these two left 26 countries out of the competition. Drug allegations were also rampant at the Olympics, with East German swimmers in the spotlight for using anabolic steroids. Curiously, the East German swimmers won all but two gold medals in 1976. However, of greatest importance perhaps is that the Summer Olympic Games in Montreal did not come cheap. A significant amount of construction was needed prior to the event – a large portion of which Montreal either struggled, or flat out failed, to complete in time. A number of long-lasting strikes (resulting in a loss of 155 work-days) affected construction of the Olympic Park, leading to official threats in early 1976 that the Games could be moved elsewhere.

In a prediction that would later haunt and embarrass him, mayor Jean Drapeau notoriously stated, “The Montreal Olympics can no more have a deficit, than a man can have a baby.” Held from July 17 to August 1 1976, the Olympic Games cost the city of Montreal a pretty penny. Actually, let me rephrase that. The Olympics were an economic calamity for Montreal, resulting in costs of over $2 billion (1976) and leaving the city in debt for three decades. (The debt was finally paid off in December 2006, thanks to a tax placed on the purchase of tobacco. Thanks, smokers!) The stadium, often called The Big O, has been sarcastically referred to as The Big Owe, a testament to popular sentiment regarding the financial disaster surrounding its construction and maintenance. The Olympic Stadium – now the symbol, landmark, reminder, and official headache of the Games – was opened for action without its famous tower and retractable roof, which was to be a pioneer achievement for engineers at the time.

As a result of the failure, severe rainstorms affected the men’s diving event as puddles formed in the high jump area, forcing Olympic athletes to clean up the mess themselves… talk about bush league! However, despite numerous complications and drawbacks, the 1976 Summer Olympics were actually quite monumental; 27 world-records were broken over the course of the Games. Women’s events in basketball, rowing, and team handball all made their Olympic debut, while field hockey was played on an artificial pitch for the first time. Amongst several other notable achievements, fourteen-year-old gymnast Nadia Comaneci of Romania was the true star of the Games, earning the first-ever perfect score of 10.0. Unfortunately, Canada finished the Games with only five silver and six bronze medals. This was the first time that the host country of the Summer Games had not won any gold medals – a feat that we would repeat again in 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, before skier Alexandre Bilodeau won Canada’s first gold medal on Canadian soil in Vancouver 2010.

In the years following the Olympics, the Montreal Expos and Montreal Alouettes moved into Olympic Stadium, staying until 2004 and 1997, respectively. Nowadays, the Olympic Stadium does not have an official host, and it remains to be seen what the future holds for The Big O, but something tells me it won’t be pretty. What historical landmark or event are you most curious about? Tweet us @TheMain ! Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics - results & video highlights Official Reports arrow African boycott The 1976 Montreal Games were marred by an African boycott involving 22 countries. The boycott was organised by Tanzania to protest the fact that the New Zealand rugby team had toured apartheid South Africa and that New Zealand was scheduled to compete in the Olympic Games. Debuts and firsts Women’s events in basketball, rowing and team handball all made their Olympic debut. Hockey was played on an artificial pitch for the first time, and boxer Clarence Hill of Bermuda earned a bronze medal to give Bermuda the honour of being the least populous nation (53,500) ever to have one of its athletes win a medal at the Summer Games.

Memorable champions Alberto Juantorena of Cuba completed the first 400m and 800m double victory. The Japanese women’s volleyball team proved untouchable, winning all their matches in straight sets, and Miklos Németh of Hungary won the javelin to become the first son of an athletics gold medalist to win a gold of his own. Perfect Nadia Fourteen-year-old gymnast Nadia Comaneci of Romania was the undoubted star of the Games. She shot to fame when, for her performance on the uneven bars, she was awarded the first-ever perfect score of 10.0. She went on to earn seven maximum marks in total. NOCs: 92 Athletes: 6,084 (1,260 women, 4.824 men) Events: 198 Media: n/a An Innovation in the transport of the flame For the Athens to Ottawa stage of the torch relay the Olympic flame travelled by air, but not by plane. Instead, a sensor used to detect ionized particles of the Flame turned them into coded impulses.

The impulses were transmitted by satellite to Ottawa where they activated a laser beam which recreated the Olympic flame in its original shape. The African Boycott Despite there being no African athletes present (they participated in a boycott organised by Tanzania, in which 22 countries came together to protest against a tour of South Africa by the New Zealand national rugby team), the standard of the competitions at the 1976 Olympic Games was very high. The Medal for the least populated country With its 53,500 inhabitants, Bermuda became the most sparsely-populated country to win a medal at the Summer Games, thanks to Clarence Hill who won the bronze medal in boxing in the heavyweight category. An Artificial pitch Hockey was played on an artificial pitch for the first time. Events open to women Women's events appeared in basketball, handball and rowing. Ceremonies Montreal 17 July 1976. Flags of the nations during the Olympic oath. Official opening of the Games by: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Lighting the Olympic Flame by: Stéphane Préfontaine and Sandra Henderson (two athletes aged 16 and 15).

Olympic Oath by: Official Oath by: Maurice Forget (athletics) It is made up of the Olympic rings mounted on an Olympic podium, which is also the graphic interpretation of the letter M, the initial of Montreal. In the centre, the athletics track, the focal point of the Games. This emblem invokes the universal fraternity offered by the Olympic Ideal, as well as the glory of the winners, the gallant spirit of their battles and the accession of Montreal to the rank of Olympic city. On the obverse, the design of Guiseppe Cassioli, created for the Amsterdam Games in 1928. The principal symbols are Victory, Fraternity and Universality. The reverse was designed as intentionally bare. It comprises a stylized laurel crown, symbol of victory since the Games of Antiquity, and the emblem of the Montreal Games. Number of torchbearers: 500 in Greece and 261 in Canada Total distance: 775 km including 514 in Greece Countries crossed: Greece, Canada More info The Games Organising Committee made two main series of posters.

The first illustrated eight key themes: - the emblem of the International Olympic Committee (here) : entitled “The Invitation” and representing the five rings reflected symbolically by successive waves, thus inviting the athletes from all the continents to the 1976 Olympic Games. - the emblem of the Organising Committee - Kingston 1976 - Olympia and the Olympic torch carrier - Montreal and Antiquity - the Olympic Stadium - the international youth camp - the mascot The second series illustrates sports. Published in 1978, the official report “Games of the XXI Olympiad Montreal 1976: official report” exists in French and English. Each of the three sets consists of three volumes (Organization; Facilities; Results). Olympic Games | Olympics Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Main article: Summer Olympic Games After the initial success, the Olympics struggled. The celebrations in Paris (1900) and St. Louis (1904) were overshadowed by the World's Fair exhibitions in which they were included.

The 1906 Intercalated Games (so-called because of their off-year status, as 1906 is not divisible by four) were held in Athens, as the first of an alternating series of Athens-held Olympics. Although originally the IOC recognised and supported these games, they are currently not recognised by the IOC as Olympic Games, which has given rise to the explanation that they were intended to mark the 10th anniversary of the modern Olympics. The 1906 Games again attracted a broad international field of participants—in 1904, 80% had been American—and great public interest, thereby marking the beginning of a rise in popularity and size of the Games. From the 241 participants from 14 nations in 1896, the Games grew to nearly 11,100 competitors from 202 countries at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens . The number of competitors at the Winter Olympics is much smaller than at the Summer Games; at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin Italy, 2,633 athletes from 80 countries competed in 84 events. The Olympics are one of the largest media events.

In Sydney in 2000, there were over 16,000 broadcasters and journalists, and an estimated 3.8 billion viewers watched the games on television. The growth of the Olympics is one of the largest problems the Olympics face today. Although allowing professional athletes and attracting sponsorships from major international companies solved financial problems in the 1980s, the large number of athletes, media and spectators makes it difficult and expensive for host cities to organize the Olympics. For example, the 2012 Olympics (which were held in London), is based on an updated budget of over £9bn—one of the biggest budgets for an Olympics to date. Even if sponsorships do lighten the load in terms of the debt that these countries take on, one of the biggest problems faced is how their economies will cope with the extra financial burdens put on them. Despite the Olympics usually being associated with one host city, most of the Olympics have had events held in other cities, especially the football and sailing events. There were two Olympics where some events were held in a different country: during the 1920 Antwerp Olympics two sailing races were held in the Netherlands; and during the Melbourne Olympics equestrian events were held in Sweden.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics marked the third time that Olympic events have been held in the territories of two different NOC 's: at the 2008 Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong (which competes separately from mainland China.) 203 countries currently participate in the Olympics. This is a noticeably higher number than the number of countries belonging to the United Nations, which is only 193. The International Olympic Committee allows nations to compete which do not meet the strict requirements for political sovereignty that many other international organizations demand. As a result, many colonies and dependencies are permitted to host their own Olympic teams and athletes even if such competitors hold the same citizenship as another member nation. Examples of this include territories such as Puerto Rico , Bermuda , and Hong Kong , all of which compete as separate nations despite being legally a part of another country. Also, since 1980, Taiwan has competed under the name " Chinese Taipei ", and under a flag specially prepared by the IOC. Prior to that year the People's Republic of China refused to participate in the Games because Taiwan had been competing under the name "Republic of China".

The Republic of the Marshall Islands was recognised as a nation by the IOC on February 9, 2006, and competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing . [9] Youth Olympic Games Main article: Youth Olympic Games The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) [10] are planned to be a "junior" version of the Games, complementing the current "senior" Games, [11] and will feature athletes between the ages of 14 and 18. [12] The idea for such an event was envisioned in 2001 by IOC president Jacques Rogge , [13] and at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City in July 2007, the IOC approved the Games. [14] The Youth Games versions will be shorter: the summer version will last at most twelve days; the winter version will last a maximum of nine days. [15] [16] The IOC will allow a maximum of 3,500 athletes and 875 officials to participate at the summer games, while 970 athletes and 580 officials are expected at the winter games.

[14] Each participating country would send at least four athletes. The sports contested at these games will be the same as those scheduled for the traditional Games, [13] but with a limited number of disciplines and events, and including some with special appeal to youth. Education and culture are also key components for this Youth edition. Estimated cost for the game are currently $30 million for the summer and $15–$20 million for winter games. [17] It has been stated the IOC will "foot the bill" for the Youth Games. The first host city will be Singapore in 2010; the first Winter Olympics is in 2012 in Innsbruk . Olympic problems Edit The 1956 Melbourne Olympics were the first Olympics to be boycotted. The Netherlands , Spain , and Switzerland refused to attend because of the repression of the Hungarian Uprising by the Soviet Union ; additionally, Cambodia , Egypt , Iraq , and Lebanon , boycotted the games due to the Suez Crisis.

[18] In 1972 and 1976 , a large number of African countries threatened the IOC with a boycott, to force them to ban South Africa , Rhodesia , and New Zealand . The IOC conceded in the first two cases, but refused in 1976 because the boycott was prompted by a New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa, and rugby was not an Olympic sport. The countries withdrew their teams after the games had started; some African athletes had already competed. A lot of sympathy was felt for the athletes forced by their governments to leave the Olympic Village; there was little sympathy outside Africa for the governments' attitude. Twenty-two countries ( Guyana was the only non-African nation) boycotted the Montreal Olympics because New Zealand was not banned. [19] Also in 1976, due to pressure from the People's Republic of China ( PRC ), Canada told the team from the Republic of China ( Taiwan ) that it could not compete at the Montreal Summer Olympics under the name "Republic of China" despite a compromise that would have allowed Taiwan to use the ROC flag and anthem .

The Republic of China refused and as a result did not participate again until 1984, when it returned under the name " Chinese Taipei " and used a special flag. [20] In 1980 and 1984, the Cold War opponents boycotted each other's games. Sixty-five nations refused to compete at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but 16 nations from Western Europe did compete at the Moscow Olympics. The boycott reduced the number of nations participating to only 81, the lowest number of nations to compete since 1956. The Soviet Union and 14 of its Eastern Bloc partners (except Romania ) countered by skipping the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 , arguing the safety of their athletes could not be guaranteed there and "chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria are being whipped up in the United States". [21] The 1984 boycotters staged their own Friendship Games in July-August.

[22] [23] There have been growing calls for boycotts of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing in protest of China's poor human rights record and response to the recent disturbances in Tibet, Darfur, and Taiwan. There are also campaigns calling for Chinese goods to be boycotted. [24] [25] [26] Olympic Problems Edit One of the main problems facing the Olympics (and international sports in general) is doping , or performance enhancing drugs. In the early 20th century, many Olympic athletes began using drugs to enhance their performance. For example, the winner of the marathon at the 1904 Games , Thomas J. Hicks , was given strychnine and brandy by his coach, even during the race. As these methods became more extreme, gradually the awareness grew that this was no longer a matter of health through sports. In the mid-1960s, sports federations put a ban on doping, and the IOC followed suit in 1967. The first and so far only Olympic death caused by doping occurred in 1960.

At the cycling road race in Rome the Danish rider Knud Enemark Jensen fell from his bicycle and later died. A coroner's inquiry found that he was under the influence of amphetamines. The first Olympic athlete to test positive for doping use was Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall , a Swedish pentathlete at the 1968 Summer Olympics , who lost his bronze medal for alcohol use. Seventy-three athletes followed him over the next 38 years, several medal winners among them. The most publicised doping-related disqualification was that of Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson , who won the 100m at the 1988 Seoul Olympics , but tested positive for stanozolol. Despite the testing, many athletes continued to use doping without getting caught. In 1990, documents were revealed that showed many East German female athletes had been unknowingly administered anabolic steroids and other drugs by their coaches and trainers as a government policy. In the late 1990s, the IOC took initiative in a more organised battle against doping, leading to the formation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 1999.

The recent 2000 Summer Olympics and 2002 Winter Olympics have shown that this battle is not nearly over, as several medalists in weightlifting and cross-country skiing were disqualified due to doping offences. One innocent victim of the anti-doping movement at the Olympics was the Romanian gymnast Andreea Răducan who was stripped of her gold medal-winning performance in the All-Around Competition of the 2000 Sydney games. Test results indicated the presence of the banned-stimulant pseudophedrine which had been prescribed to her by an Olympic doctor. Raducan had been unaware of the presence of the illegal substance in the medicine that had been prescribed to her for a cold she had during the games. During the 2006 Winter Olympics , only one athlete failed a drug test and had a medal revoked. The only other case involved 12 members with high levels of haemoglobin and their punishment was a five day suspension for health reasons. The International Olympic Committee introduced blood testing for the first time during these games.

Politics Main article: Politics in the Olympics Politics interfered with the Olympics on several occasions, the most well-known of which was the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin , where the games were used as propaganda by the German Nazis. At this Olympics, a true Olympic spirit was shown by Luz Long , who helped Jesse Owens (a black athlete) to win the long jump, at the expense of his own silver medal. [27] The Soviet Union did not participate in the Olympic Games until the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki . Instead, the Soviets organized an international sports event called Spartakiads, from 1928 onward. Many athletes from Communist organizations or close to them chose not to participate or were even barred from participating in Olympic Games, and instead participated in Spartakiads. [28] A political incident on a smaller scale occurred at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City . Two American track-and-field athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos , performed the Black Power salute on the victory stand of the 200-meter track and field race.

In response, the IOC's autocratic president Avery Brundage told the USOC to either send the two athletes home, or withdraw the complete track and field team. The USOC opted for the former. [29] The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran specifically orders its athletes not to compete in any olympic heat, semi-final, or finals that includes athletes from Israel . At the 2004 Olympics, an Iranian judoka who had otherwise earned his place, did not compete in a heat against an Israeli judoka. [30] Violence Edit Despite what Coubertin had hoped for, the Olympics did not bring total peace to the world. In fact, three Olympiads had to pass without Olympics because of war: due to World War I the 1916 Games were cancelled, and the summer and winter games of 1940 and 1944 were cancelled because of World War II. During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, a massacre of 11 members from the Israeli Olympic team occurred. The team members were taken hostage and eventually killed, along with a German police officer, by the Palestinian group Black September.

During the Summer Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta , a bombing at the Centennial Olympic Park killed two and injured 111 others. The bomb was set by Eric Robert Rudolph, an conservative American domestic terrorist, who is currently serving a life sentence. [31] The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City were the first Olympic Games since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Olympic Games since then have required an extremely high degree of security due to the fear of possible terrorist activities. [32] There have been pro-Tibet / pro-human rights protests during the Beijing Olympic Games Torch Relay, some of which included violent incidents Olympic Movement Edit A number of organizations are involved in organizing the Olympic Games. Together they form the Olympic Movement. The rules and guidelines by which these organizations operate are outlined in the Olympic Charter . At the heart of the Olympic Movement is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), currently headed by Jacques Rogge . It can be seen as the government of the Olympics, as it takes care of the daily problems and makes all important decisions, such as choosing the host city of the Games, and the programme of the Olympics.

Three groups of organisations operate on a more specialised level: International Federations (IFs), the governing bodies of a sport (e.g. FIFA , the IF for football (soccer) , and the FIVB , the international governing body for volleyball .) National Olympic Committees (NOCs), which regulate the Olympic Movement within each country (eg. USOC , the NOC of the United States ) Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs), which take care of the organisation of a specific celebration of the Olympics. At present, 202 NOCs and 35 IFs are part of the Olympic Movement. OCOGs are dissolved after the celebration of each Games, once all subsequent paperwork has been completed. More broadly speaking, the term Olympic Movement is sometimes also meant to include everybody and everything involved in the Olympics, such as national sport governing bodies, athletes, media, and sponsors of the Olympic Games. Criticism Edit Most Olympic Games have been held in European and North American cities; only a few games have been held in other places, and all bids by countries in South America and Africa have failed. Many believe the games should expand to include locations in poorer regions.

Economists point out that the massive infrastructure investments could springboard cities into earning higher GDP after the games. However, many host cities regret the high costs associated with hosting the games as a poor investment [33] . In the past, the IOC has often been criticised for being a monolithic organisation, with several members remaining a member at old age, or even until their deaths. The leadership of IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch especially has been strongly criticised. Under his presidency, the Olympic Movement made great progress, but has been seen as autocratic and corrupt. Samaranch's ties with the Franco's regime in Spain and his long term as a president (21 years, until he was 81 years old) have also been points of critique. In 1998, it became known that several IOC members had taken bribes from the organising committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , Utah , in exchange for a vote on the city at the election of the host city. The IOC started an investigation, which led to four members resigning and six being expelled. The scandal set off further reforms, changing the way in which host cities are elected to avoid further bribes.

Also, more active and former athletes were allowed in the IOC, and the membership terms have been limited. The same year (1998), four European groups organized the International Network Against Olympic Games and Commercial Sports to oppose their cities' bids for future Olympic Games. Also, an Anti-Olympic Alliance had formed in Sydney to protest the hosting of the 2000 Games. Later, a similar movement in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia organized to protest the hosting of the 2010 Winter Games. These movements were particularly concerned about adverse local economic impact and dislocation of people to accommodate the hosting of the Olympics. A BBC documentary aired in August 2004, entitled Panorama: "Buying the Games", investigated the taking of bribes in the bidding process for the 2012 Summer Olympics . The documentary claimed it is possible to bribe IOC members into voting for a particular candidate city. In an airborne television interview on the way home, the Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë , specifically accused the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the London Bid Committee (headed by former Olympic athlete Sebastian Coe ) of breaking the bid rules with flagrant financial and sexual bribes.

He cited French President Jacques Chirac as a witness but President Chirac gave rather more guarded interviews. In particular, Bulgaria 's member Ivan Slavkov, and Muttaleb Ahmad from the Olympic Council of Asia, were implicated. They have denied the allegations. Mayor Delanoë never mentioned the matter again. Others have alleged that the 2006 Winter Olympics were held in Turin because officials bribed the IOC and so Turin got the games and Sion, Switzerland (which was the favorite) did not. The Olympic Movement has been accused of being overprotective of its symbolism (in particular, it claims an exclusive and monopolistic copyright over any arrangement of five rings and the term "olympics"), and have taken action against things unrelated to sport, such as the role-playing game Legend of the Five Rings. It was accused of homophobia in 1982 when it successfully sued the Gay Olympics, an event now known as the Gay Games, to ban it from using the term "olympics" in its name. [34] Olympic symbols Main article: Olympic symbols The Olympic movement uses many symbols, most of them representing Coubertin's ideas and ideals.

The Olympic Rings are the most widely used symbol. The five colored rings on a white field form the Olympic Flag . The colors, white, red, blue, green, yellow, and black, were chosen such that each nation has at least one of these colors in its national flag. The flag was adopted in 1914, but the first Games at which it was flown were Antwerp, 1920 . It is hoisted at each celebration of the Games. The Olympic Motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius", a Latin phrase meaning "Swifter, Higher, Stronger". Coubertin's ideals are probably best illustrated by the Olympic Creed : "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." Prior to each Games, the Olympic Flame is lit in Olympia, Greece and brought to the host city by runners carrying the torch in relay. There it plays an important role in the opening ceremonies.

Though the torch fire has been around since 1928 , the relay was introduced in 1936 as part of the then German government's attempt to promote their National Socialist ideology. The Olympic mascot, an animal or human figure representing the cultural heritage of the host country, was introduced in 1968 . It has played an important part of the games since 1980 with the debut of Misha , a Russian bear. French and English are the official languages of the Olympic movement. Olympic ceremonies Edit Apart from the traditional elements, the host nation ordinarily presents artistic displays of dance and theatre representative of that country. [35] Various traditional elements frame the opening ceremonies of a celebration of the Olympic Games. The ceremonies typically start with the hoisting of the host country's flag and the performing of its national anthem.{{ safesubst:ifsubst |{{subst:Unsubst|Citation needed| name|¬|reason|¬| date|October 2007 }}| Template:Fix The traditional part of the ceremonies starts with a "parade of nations" (or of athletes), during which most participating athletes march into the stadium, country by country.

One honoured athlete, typically a top competitor, from each country carries the flag of his or her nation, leading the entourage of other athletes from that country. Traditionally (starting at the 1928 Summer Olympics ) Greece marches first, because of its historical status as the origin of the Olympics, while the host nation marches last. (In 2004, when the Games were held in Athens, Greece marched last as host nation rather than first, although the flag of Greece was carried in first.) Between these two nations, all other participating nations march in alphabetical order of the dominant language of the host country,{{ safesubst:ifsubst |{{subst:Unsubst|Citation needed| name|¬|reason|¬| date|November 2007 }}| Template:Fix or in French or English alphabetical order if the host country does not write its dominant language in an alphabet which has a set order. In the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona , both Spanish and Catalan were official languages of the games, but due to politics surrounding the use of Catalan, the nations entered in French alphabetical order.

The XVIII Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan saw nations entering in English alphabetical order since the Japanese language grouped both China and Chinese Taipei together in the Parade of Nations. After all nations have entered, the president of the host country's Olympic Organising Committee makes a speech, followed by the IOC president who, at the end of his speech introduces the representative of the host country who declares the Games open by reciting the formula: «I declare open the Games of ... (name of the host city) celebrating the ... (number of the Olympiad) Olympiad of the modern era.» [36] (There is a similar recital for the Winter Games.) Before 1936, the Opener often used to make a short Speech of Welcome before declaring the Games open. However, since 1936 when Adolf Hitler opened both the Garmisch Partenkirchen Winter Olympics and the Berlin Summer Olympics, the Openers have unswervingly stuck to that formula. The only exception was in 1984, when U.S. President Ronald Reagan opened the Summer Olympics that year in Los Angeles when he said: Celebrating the XXIII Olympiad of the modern era, I declare open the Olympic Games of Los Angeles.

[37] Despite the Games having been awarded to a particular city and not to the country in general, the Olympic Charter presently requires the Opener to be the host country's head of state . [36] However, there have been many cases where someone other than the host country's head of state opened the Games. The first example was at the Games of the II Olympiad in Paris in 1900, when there wasn't even an Opening Ceremony. There are five examples from the United States alone where the Games were not opened by the head of state. [38] Next, the Olympic Flag is carried horizontally (since the 1960 Summer Olympics ) into the stadium and hoisted as the Olympic Anthem is played. The flag bearers of all countries circle a rostrum , where one athlete (since the 1920 Summer Olympics ) and one judge (since the 1972 Summer Olympics ) speak the Olympic Oath , declaring they will compete and judge according to the rules.

[36] Finally, the Torch is brought into the stadium, passed from athlete to athlete, until it reaches the last carrier of the Torch, often a well-known athlete from the host nation, who lights the fire in the stadium's cauldron. [36] The Olympic Flame has been lit since the 1928 Summer Olympics , but the torch relay did not start until the 1936 Summer Olympics . Beginning at the post- World War I 1920 Summer Olympics , the lighting of the Olympic Flame was for 68 years followed by the release of doves , symbolizing peace. [36] This gesture was discontinued after several doves were burned alive in the Olympic Flame during the opening ceremony of the 1988 Summer Olympics . [39] However, some Opening Ceremonies have continued to include doves in other forms; for example, the 2002 Winter Olympics featured skaters holding kite-like cloth dove puppets. Opening ceremonies have been held outdoors, usually on the main athletics stadium, but those for the 2010 Winter Olympics will be the first to be held indoors, at the BC Place Stadium .

[40] Closing Edit After medals are awarded and presented for a particular event, the flags of the nations of the three medalists are raised. The flag of the gold medalist's country is in the center and always raised the highest while the flag of the silver medalist's country is on the left facing the flags and the flag of the bronze medalist's country is on the right, both at lower elevations to the gold medalist's country's flag. The flags are all raised while the national anthem of the gold medalist's country plays. This format of medal presentation is also seen in other multi-sporting events such as the Southeast Asian Games , the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games , as well as some motor racing events including Formula 1 and MotoGP Olympic sports Main article: Olympic sports Currently, the Olympic program consists of 35 different sports, 53 disciplines and more than 400 events. The Summer Olympics includes 28 sports with 38 disciplines and the Winter Olympics includes 7 sports with 15 disciplines.

[43] Nine sports were on the original Olympic programme in 1896: athletics , cycling , fencing , gymnastics , weightlifting , shooting , swimming , tennis , and wrestling . If the 1896 rowing events had not been cancelled due to bad weather, they would have been included in this list as well. [44] At the most recent Winter Olympics, 15 disciplines in seven sports were featured. Of these, cross country skiing , figure skating , ice hockey , Nordic combined , ski jumping , and speed skating have been featured on the programme at all Winter Olympics. In addition, figure skating and ice hockey also have been contested as part of the Summer Games before the introduction of separate Winter Olympics. In recent years, the IOC has added several new sports to the programme to attract attention from young spectators. Examples of such sports include snowboarding and beach volleyball . The growth of the Olympics also means that some less popular ( modern pentathlon ) or expensive (white water canoeing ) sports may lose their place on the Olympic programme. The IOC decided to discontinue baseball and softball beginning in 2012.

Cricket and Rugby union used to be in the Olympic Games but were discontinued; a revival is now seen as possible. Rule 48.1 of the Olympic Charter requires that there be a minimum of 15 Olympic sports at each Summer Games. Following its 114th Session (Mexico 2002), the IOC also decided to limit the programme of the Summer Games to a maximum of 28 sports, 301 events, and 10,500 athletes. The Olympic sports are defined as those governed by the International Federations listed in Rule 46 of the Olympic Charter. A two-thirds vote of the IOC is required to amend the Charter to promote a Recognised Federation to Olympic status and therefore make the sports it governs eligible for inclusion on the Olympic programme. Rule 47 of the Charter requires that only Olympic sports may be included in the programme. The IOC reviews the Olympic programme at the first Session following each Olympiad. A simple majority is required for an Olympic sport to be included in the Olympic programme. Under the current rules, an Olympic sport not selected for inclusion in a particular Games remains an Olympic sport and may be included again later with a simple majority.

At the 117th IOC Session , 26 sports were included in the programme for London 2012. Until 1992, the Olympics also often featured demonstration sports . The objective was for these sports to reach a larger audience; the winners of these events are not official Olympic champions. These sports were sometimes sports popular only in the host nation, but internationally known sports have also been demonstrated. Some demonstration sports eventually were included as full-medal events. Amateurism and professionalism Edit Template:See The ethos of English public schools greatly influenced Pierre de Coubertin. The public schools had a deep involvement in the development of many team sports including all British codes of football as well as cricket and hockey . The English public schools of the second half of the 19th century had a major influence on many sports. The schools contributed to the rules and influenced the governing bodies of those sports out of all proportion to their size. They subscribed to the Ancient Greek and Roman belief that sport formed an important part of education, an attitude summed up in the saying: mens sana in corpore sano – a sound mind in a healthy body.

In this ethos, taking part has more importance than winning, because society expected gentlemen to become all-rounders and not the best at everything. Class prejudice against "trade" reinforced this attitude. The house of the parents of a typical public schoolboy would have a tradesman 's entrance, because tradesmen did not rank as the social equals of gentlemen. Apart from class considerations there was the typically English concept of "fairness," in which practicing or training was considered as tantamount to cheating; it meant that you considered it more important to win than to take part. Those who practiced a sport professionally were considered to have an unfair advantage over those who practiced it merely as a "hobby." In Coubertin's vision, athletes should be gentlemen. Initially, only amateurs were considered such; professional athletes were not allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. A short-lived exception was made for professional fencing instructors. [45] This exclusion of professionals has caused several controversies throughout the history of the modern Olympics. 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon champion, Jim Thorpe , was disqualified when it was discovered that he played semi-professional baseball prior to winning his medals. He was restored as champion on compassionate grounds by the IOC in 1983.

Swiss and Austrian skiers boycotted the 1936 Winter Olympics in support of their skiing teachers, who were not allowed to compete because they earned money with their sport and were considered professionals. It gradually became clear to many that the amateurism rules had become outdated, not least because the self-financed amateurs of Western countries often were no match for the state-sponsored "full-time amateurs" of Eastern bloc countries. Nevertheless, the IOC, led by President Avery Brundage , held to the traditional rules regarding amateurism. In the 1970s, after Brundage left, amateurism requirements were dropped from the Olympic Charter, leaving decisions on professional participation to the international federation for each sport. This switch was perhaps best exemplified by the American Dream Team , composed of well-paid NBA stars, which won the Olympic gold medal in basketball in 1992.

As of 2004 , the only sport in which no professionals compete is boxing (though even this requires a definition of amateurism based on fight rules rather than on payment, as some boxers receive cash prizes from their National Olympic Committees); in men's football (soccer) , the number of players over 23 years of age is limited to three per team. Advertisement regulations are still very strict, at least on the actual playing field, although "Official Olympic Sponsors" are common. Athletes are only allowed to have the names of clothing and equipment manufacturers on their outfits. The sizes of these markings are limited. Olympic champions and medalists See also: List of multiple Olympic gold medalists The athletes (or teams) who place first, second, or third in each event receive medals. The winners receive "gold medals". (Though they were solid gold until 1912, they are now made of gilded silver.) The runners-up receive silver medals, and the third-place athletes bronze medals. In some events contested by a single-elimination tournament (most notably boxing ), third place might not be determined, in which case both semi-final losers receive bronze medals.

The practice of awarding medals to the top three competitors was introduced in 1904; at the 1896 Olympics only the first two received a medal, silver and bronze, while various prizes were awarded in 1900 . However, the 1904 Olympics also awarded silver trophies for first place, which makes Athens 1906 the first games that awarded the three medals only. In addition, from 1948 onward athletes placing fourth, fifth and sixth have received certificates which became officially known as "victory diplomas;" since 1976 the medal winners have received these also, and in 1984 victory diplomas for seventh- and eighth-place finishers were added, presumably to ensure that all losing quarter-finalists in events using single-elimination formats would receive diplomas, thus obviating the need for consolation (or officially, "classification") matches to determine fifth through eighth places (though interestingly these latter are still contested in many elimination events anyway). Certificates were awarded also at the 1896 Olympics, but there they were awarded in addition to the medals to first and second place.

Commemorative medals and diplomas — which differ in design from those referred to above — are also made available to participants finishing lower than third and eighth respectively. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the first three were given wreaths as well as their medals. Because the Olympics are held only once every four years, the public and athletes often consider them as more important and valuable than world championships and other international tournaments, which are often held annually. Many athletes have become celebrities or heroes in their own country, or even world-wide, after becoming Olympic champions. The diversity of the sports, and the great differences between the Olympic Games in 1896 and today make it difficult to decide which athlete is the most successful Olympic athlete of all time. This is further complicated since the IOC no longer recognises the Intercalated Games which it originally organised. When measuring by the number of titles won at the Modern Olympic Games, the following athletes may be considered the most successful. Athlete Edit The IOC does not publish lists of medals per country, but the media often does.

A comparison between countries would be unfair to countries with fewer inhabitants, so some have made calculations of medals per number of inhabitants, such as [1] for the 2004 Olympics and [2] for a few more. A problem here is that for a very small country, gaining just one medal could mean the difference between the very top and the very bottom of the list (a point illustrated by the Bahamas ' per capita number one position in 2004). On the other hand, a large country may not be able to send a number of athletes that is proportional to its size because a limit is set for the number of participants per country for a specific sport. A comparison of the total number of medals over time is further complicated by the fact that the number of times that countries have participated is not equal, and that many countries have gained and lost territories where medal-winning athletes come from. A case in point is the USSR , which not only participated relatively rarely (18 times, versus 45 times for the UK ), but also ceased to exist in 1991. The resulting Russian Federation is largely, but not entirely equal to the former USSR. Also, one would have to use population statistics at the time.

The IOC medal tally chart is based on the number of gold medals for country. Where states are equal, the number of silver medals (and then bronze medals) are counted to determine rankings. Since 1996, the only countries that have appeared in the top 10 medal tallies for summer Olympics have been the Russian Federation , United States , China , France , Germany , Australia and Italy . Since 1994, the only countries that have appeared in the top 10 medal tallies for winter Olympics have been Norway , the Russian Federation , the United States , Canada , Germany , Austria , South Korea , Switzerland , France and Italy . Olympic Games host cities Main article: List of Olympic host cities By 2014, the Olympic Games were hosted by 42 cities in 22 countries. The upcoming 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be held in London, and the 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be held in Soshi. The number in parentheses following the city/country denotes how many times that city/country had then hosted the games, with said exclusions.

This table does not include the "Olympic Games" organized by Evangelos Zappas prior to the IOC's creation in 1894. It does list the "Intercalated Games" of 1906 , but it is not included in the counts as the IOC no longer considers them to be official Olympic Games. Olympic Games host cities 1 Originally awarded to Chicago , but moved to St. Louis to coincide with the World's Fair 2 Cancelled due to World War I 3 Cancelled due to World War II 4 Equestrian events were held in Stockholm , Sweden . Stockholm had to bid for the equestrian competition separately; it received its own Olympic flame and had its own formal invitations and opening & closing ceremonies, just like the regular Summer Olympics. [46] 5 Equestrian events to be held in China's Hong Kong SAR . Although Hong Kong's separate NOC is conducting the equestrian competition, it is an integral part of the Beijing Games; it is not being conducted under a separate bid, flame, etc., as was the 1956 Stockholm equestrian competition. The IOC website lists only Beijing as the host city [47] .

See also The Montréal Olympics - The Canadian Encyclopedia The Montréal Olympics In 1976, Montréal became the first Canadian city to host the Olympic Games. In 1976, Montréal became the first Canadian city to host the Olympic Games. The XXIst Olympiad , held from 17 July to 1 August 1976, included memorable performances from many athletes, including Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci and American decathlete Bruce Jenner. Although Canada did not win a gold medal at the Games, the Canadian team won 11 medals in total —more than double the number of medals won at each of the previous two Olympic Games. The Olympic facilities, while costly, became Montréal landmarks and many are still used for training and competition. The Olympic Bid On a trip to Lausanne in 1963, Montréal mayor Jean Drapeau visited a museum located in the same building as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) offices. From then on, he began planning to obtain the Olympic Games for Montréal.

(Drapeau’s legacy also includes Expo ’67 , the Montréal Metro , and the Montreal Expos .) On 4 December 1969, Montréal filed its application with the IOC to bid on the 1976 Olympics, as did Moscow and Los Angeles. For Montréal this was a sixth attempt following initiatives to host the 1932, 1936, 1944, 1956 and 1972 Games. On 12 May 1970 in Amsterdam, the IOC announced that Montréal would host the Games of the XXIst Olympiad, to be held from 17 July to 1 August 1976. The Games would be the first Olympics hosted by a Canadian city. Facilities The Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG), headed by president and commissioner Roger Rousseau, was responsible for planning and overseeing the construction of Olympic facilities, as well as the financing and operation of the Games.

The committee oversaw the construction of the Stadium (which later housed the Montreal Expos ), the Swimming Pool, the Olympic Basin, the Velodrome, the Olympic Village, the Claude Robillard Centre and the Étienne Desmarteau Centre. In addition to erecting new facilities, presenting the Olympic Games called for improvements to existing ones. Elaborate designs and labour strikes contributed to heavy construction costs. The original cost of the Games was estimated first at $120 million (1970) and then $310 million (1973). However, the final tally was $1.6 billion (it took 30 years to pay off the debt). The Olympic facilities became Montréal landmarks and many are still used for training and competition, although the Velodrome is now the Montréal Biodome, an indoor nature exhibit. The Olympic Torch An important part of the Olympic Games is the torch relay. On 13 July 1976, before a gallery of dignitaries, Maria Moscholiou (acting as high priestess of the flame) knelt near the Temple of Hera in Olympia and lit the Olympic flame.

The relay then travelled more than 550 kilometres on Greek soil before reaching Athens on 15 July; there, the flame was placed before a sensor, which detected the ionized particles of the flame and converted them into impulses that were transmitted by satellite. In Ottawa , a receiver picked up the signal and triggered a laser beam that recreated the flame, starting the Canadian leg of the torch’s journey to Montréal . It was the first time such technology had been used to transmit the Olympic flame. On the evening of 16 July, former marathoner Gérard Côté lit the cauldron on Mount Royal . The next day at 3:30 p.m., 16 Canadian athletes carried the flame in turn until it reached the Olympic Stadium where the opening ceremonies were unfolding. In total, the Olympic torch was carried by 1,214 runners. Opening Ceremonies On 17 July 1976, at 3:00 p.m. more than 73,000 people gathered in the Olympic Stadium to take part in the Opening Ceremonies of the Montréal Olympics.

The rituals began with the arrival of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II , accompanied by Prince Philip and Prince Andrew and by IOC president Lord Killanen and Commissioner of the Games Roger Rousseau. This was followed by the procession of athletes into the stadium. After the Queen officially opened the Games, the Olympic flame was carried into the stadium by two 15-year-old athletes, Sandra Henderson from Toronto and Stéphane Préfontaine from Montréal , to the sounds of the Olympic Cantata written by Louis Chantigny. Participation and African Boycott In total, 6,084 athletes (1,260 women and 4,824 men) from 92 nations took part in the Olympic Games . However, this did not include athletes from 22 African countries that officially withdrew from the Games due to the sporting links between New Zealand and apartheid South Africa. The central issue was the refusal of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban New Zealand, whose rugby team (the All Blacks) was touring South Africa.

(Due to its apartheid policies, South Africa itself was banned from the Olympic Games from 1964 to 1992.) According to Kenyan foreign minister, James Osogo, the IOC decision not to ban New Zealand would give “comfort and respectability to the South African racist regime and encourage it to continue to defy world opinion.” This meant the loss of over 440 competitors (173 from athletics alone), including world class runners like Filbert Bayi from Tanzania (who held the world record in the 1500m) and John Akii-Bua from Uganda (who held the world record in the 400 metres hurdles). Moreover, Montréal lost a million dollars in seat refunds and event cancellations in the first two days of the Games. Olympic Disciplines The programme at the Montréal Games included 198 events representing 23 Olympic sports. These events took place at 27 competition sites, several located outside of Montréal (including Kingston , which hosted the sailing events). Significantly, women would compete in basketball , handball and rowing competitions for the first time in the Olympics (for more information about women in sports, see The History of Canadian Women in Sport ).

Sports 1976 Montréal Summer Games | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com 1976 Montréal Summer Games Host City: Montréal, Canada (July 18, 1976 to August 1, 1976) Opening Ceremony: July 17, 1976 (opened by Queen Elizabeth II) Taker of the Olympic Oath: Pierre St. Jean (athlete) Closing Ceremony: August 1, 1976 Events: 198 in 23 sports Participants: 6,073 (4,812 men and 1,260 women) from 92 countries Youngest Participant: Antonia Real (12 years, 311 days) Oldest Participant: Owen Phillips (70 years, 11 days) Most Medals (Athlete): Soviet Union (125 medals) Overview After the boycotts and the massacre of [Munich], the IOC hoped for an Olympic revival at Montréal in 1976. But all their wishes were not fulfilled.

The city of Montréal spent extravagantly to host the Games, leaving the citizens of Canada and Québec with a tax debt they would be repaying for years. Many of the structures planned for the Games were not finished on time or came in well over estimates, and several of them, notably the elaborate, though beautiful, velodrome, proved to be white elephants that would be of little use after the Olympics. The Games were dubbed the billion-dollar circus by the Canadian press. Mayor Jean Drapeau's efforts in hosting the Olympic were not appreciated by the Canadian citizenry. » Click to show/hide rest of overview Then shortly before the Games were to start they were marred by a boycott of 22 African countries, Guyana, and Chinese Taipei (then Taiwan). The African/Guyanan boycott was in protest of a recent tour of South Africa by the New Zealand national rugby side, almost mockingly (although unrelatedly) named the All-Blacks. As South Africa was ostracized from international sporting competition, the African nations demanded New Zealand not be allowed to compete at Montréal. But the IOC had little control over this problem, as rugby had no current affiliation with the Olympic Movement. New Zealand competed and most of Africa did not.

Twenty-six nations eventually boycotted the Montréal Olympics. Twenty-two of these did not compete at all and are as follows\: Algeria, Central Africa, Chad, People's Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, Iraq, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Upper Volta, and Zambia. In addition, four nations, Cameroon, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, also boycotted, but a few of their athletes competed prior to their withdrawal and boycott. [James Gilkes] of Guyana was a top sprinter and petitioned to compete as an individual after his nation withdrew. The IOC refused this request stating that there was no allowance for this in the Olympic Charter. It seemed more than a bit hypocritical as the IOC, when decrying the use of national medal lists, had always proclaimed that the Olympics are for individuals, not for nations. In 1992, the IOC would change their stance and allow Yugoslavian athletes, ostracized by the United Nations because of their nation's civil war, to compete as Independent Olympic Participants (IOP).

This occurred again in 2000 at Sydney when East Timor athletes, not yet an independent nation, and with no recognized NOC, were allowed to compete as Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA). The Taiwan boycott occurred when Canada at first refused to allow them to enter the country, as the Canadian government did not recognize the island nation. This was in direct violation of the contract they had signed as the host nation to admit all eligible nations in honoring the Olympic Charter. The Canadians acquiesced and allowed the Taiwanese to compete, but refused to allow them to do so under the title of the Republic of China, their official national name. Several other countries protested and threatened withdrawal, notably the United States, if the Taiwan athletes were not allowed to compete. However, these protests were short-lived and the IOC finally gave in to the Canadian government. Taiwan watched the Olympics from afar, if at all. After all this the Olympics began. Despite the absence of some top African track athletes, they were well run and the boycotts had minimal effect on competition.

Track & field saw the loss of its featured event, the [1,500 metres], in which [John Walker] (ironically of New Zealand) and [Filbert Bayi] (Tanzania) were to compete. They were the two best milers in the world by far, but Walker had only himself to beat, and he managed a comfortable gold medal victory. The most spectacular athlete on the track was likely Cuba's [Alberto Juantorena] who won both the [400] and [800 metres] runs. The gymnastics competition saw the Olympic début of Romania's [Nadia Comăneci], who was awarded seven perfect 10s for her performances in the gym. She won five medals and three gold medals, dominating the competition. With Munich followed by the political and financial problems of Montréal, the Olympic Movement was reeling. [Moscow] would bring no better. Country Medal Leaders A Sports Reference Site : About SR/Olympics | Privacy Statement | Conditions & Terms of Service | Use of Data Data provided by OlyMADMen , led by Hilary Evans, Arild Gjerde, Jeroen Heijmans, and Bill Mallon.

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Question: in what year where the Summer Olympic Games hosted in Montreal?
Answer: 1976