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history through our eyes: july 17, 1976, queen elizabeth opens olympics

leading up to the ceremony, it was chaos, but then, "everything fell into place just as it did with the hectic stadium construction itself."

by montreal gazette

jul 17 2019
read time 1 minute read
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history through our eyes: july 17, 1976, queen elizabeth opens olympics
queen elizabeth attends the opening ceremony of the olympic games in montreal on july 17, 1976. michael dugas / montreal gazette
the games of the xxi olympiad — the montreal summer olympics — were opened on saturday, july 17, 1976 by queen elizabeth.
we carried copious coverage on monday july 19, including many pages of early results.
in the hours leading up to the ceremony, it was chaos, but then, “everything fell into place just as it did with the hectic stadium construction itself. perfection. everyone was in his seat and the queen was in hers and the greek olympic team was leading the way down the marathon ramp from the village,” we wrote. the queen is seen here in a photo by michael dugas.
“as the greeks swung through the marathon gate and onto the track it was time to forget the years of doubt and worry, the union problems and the financing nightmare,” we said.
“canada has never seen anything like what followed in the next 150 minutes as wave upon wave of emotion washed through the stadium and rebounded off the roger taillibert designed roof.”
the queen was also attending as a mother. princess anne was a member of the british equestrian team.
when the british team marched by, “although you had to be up close to see it, prince philip gave the queen a little nudge as if to encourage her to wave to daughter anne marching three rows from the back and three spots in from the curbing in the british team. much the same personal reaction parents from all countries must have been having as their offspring passed on parade,” we reported.

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“the golden moment, however, came when canada’s 500-plus contingent swung in at the tail end of the parade. the stadium exploded.”
the uncropped photo: queen elizabeth attends the opening ceremony of the olympic games in montreal on july 17, 1976.
the uncropped photo: queen elizabeth attends the opening ceremony of the olympic games in montreal on july 17, 1976. michael dugas / montreal gazette

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