The 1976 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXI Olympiad and also known as Montréal 1976) were an international multi-sport event held between July 17 and August 1, 1976 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. These Games were the first to be held in the country, which would later host the 1988 and 2010 Winter Games. They were also the first Olympics where the Cauldron was lit by two people; two teenagers were chosen to symbolize the youth and the two founding groups of Canada.
Although this was a big event for Canada, it came at a major cost to the city of Montreal. It was a financial disaster because the original estimated $310 million cost was pushed to $1.5 billion after labor problems, financial mismanagement, the addition of an extravagant stadium, added security (which was needed after the Munich massacre during the 1972 Games) and other expenses. Ultimately, the Montreal Olympic Stadium cost almost C$2 billion.
Bidding[]
| Voting results for the 1976 Summer Olympic Games | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Country | Round 1 | Round 2 | |||
| Montreal | Canada | 25 | 41 | |||
| Moscow | Soviet Union | 28 | 28 | |||
| Los Angeles | United States | 17 | ||||
Boycotts and Politics[]
Although 92 Nations competed there were many who boycotted these Games
The IOC refused to ban New Zealand, after their rugby union team toured the racially segregated South Africa. Because of this, 28 countries, mainly in Africa, boycotted the Montreal Games.
Another dispute was between the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of China (also known as Taiwan), over issues concerning the legitimacy of each other. Canada originally barred the Republic of China, but later allowed them to compete if they wouldn't refer to themselves as the Republic of China. They became outraged and withdrew from the Olympics.
Sports[]
Medal table[]
- Nadia Comaneci, a 14-year-old Romanian gymnast, scores 7 perfect 10s. This is a world-first because before this no one had ever scored one perfect 10 in the history of the Games. She went on to win 3 gold medals, a silver and a bronze for her country.
| Rank | Country | 
|
|
|
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union | 49 | 41 | 35 | 125 |
| 2 | East Germany | 40 | 25 | 25 | 90 |
| 3 | United States | 34 | 35 | 25 | 94 |
| 4 | West Germany | 10 | 12 | 17 | 39 |
| 5 | Japan | 9 | 6 | 10 | 25 |
| 6 | Poland | 7 | 6 | 13 | 26 |
| 7 | Bulgaria | 6 | 9 | 7 | 22 |
| 8 | Cuba | 6 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
| 9 | Romania | 4 | 9 | 14 | 27 |
| 10 | Hungary | 4 | 5 | 13 | 22 |
| 11 | Finland | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 12 | Sweden | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 13 | Great Britain | 3 | 5 | 5 | 13 |
| 14 | Italy | 2 | 7 | 4 | 13 |
| 15 | France | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 16 | Yugoslavia | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 17 | Czechoslovakia | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 18 | New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 19 | South Korea | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 20 | Switzerland | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 21 | Jamaica | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | North Korea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | Norway | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 24 | Denmark | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 25 | Mexico | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 27 | Canada | 0 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| 28 | Belgium | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 29 | Netherlands | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 30 | Portugal | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 30 | Spain | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 32 | Australia | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 33 | Iran | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Mongolia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 | Venezuela | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Brazil | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 37 | Austria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 37 | Bermuda | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 37 | Pakistan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 37 | Puerto Rico | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 37 | Thailand | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Image Gallery[]
See Also[]
- Logos - A collection of logos featuring this event.
- Mascots - The official mascots of this Olympics'.
- Torch - Information about this Olympics' torch.
| Preceded by Innsbruck 1976 |
Olympics 1976 |
Succeeded by Lake Placid 1980 |
| Preceded by Munich 1972 |
Summer Olympics 1976 |
Succeeded by Moscow 1980 |