The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967.[2] It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most successful World's Fairs of the 20th century[3] with the most attendees to that date and 62 nations participating. It also set the single-day attendance record for a world's fair, with 569,500 visitors on its third day.
Expo 67 was Canada's main celebration during its centennial year. The fair had been intended to be held in Moscow, to help the Soviet Union celebrate the Russian Revolution's 50th anniversary; however, for various reasons, the Soviets decided to cancel, and Canada was awarded it in late 1962.
The project was not well supported in Canada at first. It took the determination of Montreal's mayor, Jean Drapeau, and a new team of managers to guide it past political, physical and temporal hurdles. Defying a computer analysis that said it could not be done, the fair opened on time.[4]
After Expo 67 ended in October 1967, the site and most of the pavilions continued on as an exhibition called Man and His World, open during the summer months from 1968 until 1984. By that time, most of the buildings—which had not been designed to last beyond the original exhibition—had deteriorated and were dismantled. Today, the islands that hosted the world exhibition are mainly used as parkland and for recreational use, with only a few remaining structures from Expo 67 to show that the event was held there.
History
Background
Expo 67 passport
The idea of hosting the 1967 World Exhibition dates back to 1957. "I believe it was Colonel Sevigny who first asked me to do what I could to bring Canada's selection as the site for the international exposition in 1967," wrote Prime Minister John Diefenbaker in his memoir.[5] Montreal's mayor, Sarto Fournier, backed the proposal, allowing Canada to make a bid to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). At the BIE's May 5, 1960 meeting in Paris, Moscow was awarded the fair after five rounds of voting that eliminated Austria's and then Canada's bids.[6] In April 1962,[7] however, the Soviets scrapped plans to host the fair because of financial constraints and security concerns.[2][8] Montreal's new mayor, Jean Drapeau, lobbied the Canadian government to try again for the fair, which they did. On November 13, 1962,[9] the BIE changed the location of the World Exhibition to Canada,[9] and Expo 67 went on to become the second-best attended BIE-sanctioned world exposition, after the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. (It is now fourth, having been surpassed by Osaka (1970) and Shanghai (2010).)[10]
Several sites were proposed as the main Expo grounds. One location that was considered was Mount Royal Park, to the north of the downtown core.[11] But it was Drapeau's idea to create new islands in the St. Lawrence river, and to enlarge the existing Saint Helen's Island. The choice overcame opposition from Montreal's surrounding municipalities, and also prevented land speculation.[12] On March 29, 1963, the location for the World's Fair was officially announced as being Saint Helen's Island.[13]
Key people
The Expo 67 site on Notre Dame Island with the Canada, Quebec and Ontario pavilions in view
Expo 67 did not get off to a smooth start; in 1963, many top organizing committee officials resigned. The main reason for the resignations was Mayor Drapeau's choice of the site on new islands to be created around the existing St. Helen's Island and also that a computer program predicted that the event could not possibly be constructed in time.[14] Another more likely reason for the mass resignations was that on April 22, 1963, the federal Liberal government of Prime Minister Lester Pearson took power. This meant that former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservative government appointees to the board of directors of the Canadian Corporation for the 1967 World Exhibition were likely forced to resign.[15]
Canadian diplomat Pierre Dupuy was named Commissioner General, after Diefenbaker appointee Paul Bienvenu resigned from the post in 1963.[16] One of the main responsibilities of the Commissioner General was to attract other nations to build pavilions at Expo.[16] Dupuy would spend most of 1964 and 1965 soliciting 125 countries, spending more time abroad than in Canada.[17] Dupuy's 'right-hand' man was Robert Fletcher Shaw, the deputy commissioner general and vice-president of the corporation.[17] He also replaced a Diefenbaker appointee, C.F. Carsley, Deputy Commissioner General.[17] Shaw was a professional engineer and builder, and is widely credited for the total building of the Exhibition.[17] Dupuy hired Andrew Kniewasser as the general manager. The management group became known as Les Durs—the tough guys—and they were in charge of creating, building and managing Expo.[17]Les Durs consisted of: Jean-Claude Delorme, Legal Counsel and Secretary of the Corporation; Dale Rediker, Director of Finances; Colonel Edward Churchill, Director of Installations; Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien, Director of Operations, dubbed "The Mayor of Expo"; Pierre de Bellefeuille, Director of Exhibitors; and Yves Jasmin, Director of Information, Advertising and Public Relations.[18] To this group the chief architect Édouard Fiset was added. All ten were honoured by the Canadian government as recipients of the Order of Canada, Companions for Dupuy and Shaw, Officers for the others.
Jasmin wrote a book, in French, La petite histoire d'Expo 67, about his 45-month experience at Expo and created the Expo 67 Foundation (available on the web site under that name) to commemorate the event for future generations.[19][20]
As historian Pierre Berton put it, the cooperation between Canada's French- and English-speaking communities "was the secret of Expo's success—'the Québécois flair, the English-Canadian pragmatism.'"[21] However, Berton also points out that this is an over-simplification of national stereotypes. Arguably Expo did, for a short period anyway, bridge the "Two Solitudes."[22]
In Terre des Hommes, his haunting book, so filled with dreams and hopes for the future, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry writes of how deeply moved he was when, flying for the first time by night alone over Argentina, he happened to notice a few flickering lights scattered below him across an almost empty plain. They "twinkled here and there, alone like stars...." In truth, being made aware of our own solitude can give us insight into the solitude of others. It can even cause us to gravitate towards one another as if to lessen our distress. Without this inevitable solitude, would there be any fusion at all, any tenderness between human beings. Moved as he was by a heightened awareness of the solitude of all creation and by the human need for solidarity, Saint-Exupéry found a phrase to express his anguish and his hope that was as simple as it was rich in meaning; and because that phrase was chosen many years later to be the governing idea of Expo 67, a group of people from all walks of life was invited by the Corporation to reflect upon it and to see how it could be given tangible form.
Construction started on August 13, 1963, with an elaborate ceremony hosted by Mayor Drapeau on barges anchored in the St. Lawrence River.[27] Ceremonially, construction began when Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson pulled a lever that signalled a front-end loader to dump the first batch of fill to enlarge Île Sainte-Hélène,[Note 1] and Quebec premier Jean Lesage spread the fill with a bulldozer.[28][29] Of the 25 million tons of fill needed to construct the islands, 10–12% was coming from the Montreal Metro's excavations, a public works project that was already under construction before Expo was awarded to Montreal.[30] The remainder of the fill came from quarries on Montreal and the South Shore, however even with that it was insufficient and so bodies of water on both islands were added (lakes and canals) to reduce the amount of fill required. Expo's initial construction period mainly centered on enlarging Saint Helen's Island, creating the artificial island of Île Notre-Dame and lengthening and enlarging the Mackay Pier which became the Cité du Havre. While construction continued, the land rising out of Montreal harbour was not owned by the Expo Corporation yet. After the final mounds of earth completed the islands, the grounds that would hold the fair were officially transferred from the City of Montreal to the corporation on June 20, 1964.[16] This gave Colonel Churchill only 1042 days to have everything built and functioning for opening day. To get Expo built in time, Churchill used the then new project management tool known as the critical path method (CPM).[31] On April 28, 1967, opening day, everything was ready, with one exception: Habitat 67, which was then displayed as a work in progress.[32]
Building and enlarging the islands, along with the new Concorde Bridge built to connect them with the site-specific mass transit system known as the Montreal Expo Express, plus a boat pier, cost more than the Saint Lawrence Seaway project did only five years earlier: this was even before any buildings or infrastructure were constructed.[16] With the initial phase of construction completed, it is easy to see why the budget for the exhibition was going to be larger than anyone expected. In the fall of 1963, Expo's general manager, Andrew Kniewasser, presented the master plan and the preliminary budget of $167 million for construction: it would balloon to over $439 million by 1967. The plan and budget narrowly passed a vote in Pearson's federal cabinet, passing by one vote, and then it was officially submitted on December 23, 1963.[33]
Logo
The logo was designed by Montreal artist Julien Hébert.[34] The basic unit of the logo is an ancient symbol of man. Two of the symbols (pictograms of "man") are linked as to represent friendship. The icon was repeated in a circular arrangement to represent "friendship around the world".[18] The logotype uses the lower-case Optima typeface. It did not enjoy unanimous support from federal politicians, as some of them tried to kill it with a motion in the House of Commons of Canada.[34]
Theme songs
The official Expo 67 theme song was composed by Stéphane Venne and was titled: "Hey Friend, Say Friend/Un Jour, Un Jour".[35] Complaints were made about the suitability of the song, as its lyrics mentioned neither Montreal nor Expo 67.[35] The song was selected from an international competition with over 2,200 entries from 35 countries.[36]
However, the song that most Canadians associate with Expo was written by Bobby Gimby, a veteran commercial jingle writer who composed the popular Centennial tune "Ca-na-da".[37] Gimby earned the name the "Pied Piper of Canada".[38]
The theme song "Something to Sing About", used for the Canadian pavilion, had been written for a 1963 television special.[36] The Ontario pavilion also had its own theme song: "A Place to Stand, A Place to Grow", which has evolved to become an unofficial theme song for the province.[39]
Official opening ceremonies were held on Thursday afternoon, April 27, 1967.[40] The ceremonies were an invitation-only event, held at Place des Nations.[41] Canada's Governor General, Roland Michener, proclaimed the exhibition open after the Expo flame was ignited by Prime Minister Pearson.[42] On hand were over 7,000 media and invited guests including 53 heads of state.[42] Over 1,000 reporters covered the event, broadcast in NTSC Colour, live via satellite, to a worldwide audience of over 700 million viewers and listeners.[Note 2]
Expo 67 opened to the public on the morning of Friday, April 28, 1967, with a space age-style countdown.[43] A capacity crowd at Place d'Accueil participated in the atomic clock-controlled countdown that ended when the exhibition opened precisely at 9:30a.m. EST.[43] An estimated crowd of between 310,000 and 335,000 visitors showed up for opening day, as opposed to the expected crowd of 200,000.[44] The first person through the Expo gates at Place d'Accueil was Al Carter, a 41-year-old jazz drummer from Chicago, who was recognized for his accomplishment by Expo 67's director of operations Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien.[45] Beaubien presented Carter with a gold watch for his feat.[46]
On opening day, there was considerable comment on the uniform of the hostesses from the UK Pavilion.[47] The dresses had been designed to the then-new miniskirt style, popularized a year earlier by Mary Quant.[48]
In conjunction with the opening of Expo 67, the Canadian Post Office Department issued a 5¢ stamp commemorating the fair, designed by Harvey Thomas Prosser.[49]
Entertainment, Ed Sullivan Show, and VIPs
The World Festival of Art and Entertainment at Expo 67 featured art galleries, opera, ballet and theatre companies, orchestras, jazz groups, famous Canadian pop musicians and other cultural attractions.[50] Many pavilions had music and performance stages, where visitors could find free concerts and shows, including the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers.[51]Micheline Legendre organized Canada's first puppetry festival in conjunction with the Expo.[52] Most of the featured entertainment took place in the following venues: Place des Arts, Expo Theatre, Place des Nations, La Ronde, and Automotive Stadium.[50]
The La Ronde amusement park was always intended to be a lasting legacy of the fair. Most of its rides and booths were permanent. When the Expo fairgrounds closed nightly, at around 10:00p.m., visitors could still visit La Ronde, which closed at 2:30a.m.[50]
Despite its successes, there were problems: Front de libération du Québec militants had threatened to disrupt the exhibition, but were inactive during this period. Vietnam war protesters picketed during the opening day, April 28. American PresidentLyndon B. Johnson's visit became a focus of war protesters. Threats that the Cuba pavilion would be destroyed by anti-Castro forces were not carried out.[57] In June, the Arab–Israeli conflict in the Middle East flared up again in the Six-Day War, which resulted in Kuwait pulling out of the fair in protest to the way Western nations dealt with the war.[57] The president of France, Charles De Gaulle, caused an international incident on July 24 when he addressed thousands at Montreal City Hall by yelling out the words "Vive Montréal... Vive le Québec... Vive le Québec Libre!"[58]
In September, the most serious problem turned out to be a 30-day transit strike. By the end of July, estimates predicted that Expo would exceed 60 million visitors, but the strike cut deeply into attendance and revenue figures, just as the fair was cruising to its conclusion.[57] Another major problem, beyond the control of Expo's management, was guest accommodation and lodging. Logexpo was created to direct visitors to accommodations in the Montreal area, which usually meant that visitors would stay at the homes of people they were unfamiliar with, rather than traditional hotels or motels. The Montreal populace opened their homes to thousands of guests. Unfortunately for some visitors, they were sometimes sent to less than respectable establishments where operators took full advantage of the tourist trade. Management of Logexpo was refused to Expo and was managed by a Quebec provincial authority. Still, Expo would get most of the blame for directing visitors to these establishments. But overall, a visit to Expo from outside Montreal was still seen as a bargain.[57]
Expo ends
Site map of Expo 67, highlighting 20 of the 90 pavilions
Expo 67 closed on Sunday afternoon, October 29, 1967. The fair had been scheduled to close two days earlier, however a two-day extension granted by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) allowed it to continue over the weekend. On the final day 221,554 visitors added to the more than 50 million (54,991,806[1]) that attended Expo 67 at a time when Canada's population was only 20 million, setting a per-capita record for World Exhibition attendance that still stands.[59] Starting at 2:00p.m., Expo Commissioner General Pierre Dupuy officiated over the medal ceremony, in which participating nations and organizations received gold and silver medallions, and over the ceremony in which national flags were lowered in the reverse order to which they had been raised, with Canada's flag lowered first and Nigeria's lowered last.[57] After Prime Minister Pearson doused the Expo flame, Governor General Roland Michener closed Expo at Place des Nations with the mournful spontaneous farewell: "It is with great regret that I declare that the Universal and International Exhibition of 1967 has come to an official end."[57] All rides and the minirail were shut down by 3:50p.m., and the Expo grounds closed at 4:00p.m., with the last Expo Express train leaving for Place d'Accueil at that time.[57] A fireworks display, that went on for an hour, was Expo's concluding event.[57]
Expo performed better financially than expected. Expo was intended to have a deficit, shared between the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government. Significantly better-than-expected attendance revenue reduced the debt to well below the original estimates. The final financial statistics, in 1967 Canadian dollars, were: revenues of $221,239,872, costs of $431,904,683, and a deficit of $210,664,811.[59]
Most visited: USSR Pavilion; the Expo 67 Soviet pavilion was disassembled after the fair closed, and moved to Moscow to become the Moscow Pavilion at the All-Russia Exhibition Centre.2nd most visited: Canada Pavilion, shown with Ontario and Western Provinces pavilions3rd most visited: USA Pavilion (with minirail)
Expo 67 featured 90 pavilions representing Man and His World themes, nations, corporations, and industries including the U.S. pavilion, a geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller. Many pavilions had innovative presentations, almost all using film in one way or another, or, as a commentator said: "film was everywhere, unreeling at a furious rate. Expo was a fair of film."[60]
Expo 67 also featured the Habitat 67 modular housing complex designed by architect Moshe Safdie, which was later purchased by private individuals and is still occupied.
The most popular pavilion was the Soviet Union's exhibit. It attracted about 13 million visitors.[61] Rounding out the top five pavilions, in terms of attendance were: the Canadian Pavilion (11 million visitors), the United States (9 million), France (8.5 million), and Czechoslovakia (8 million).[61]
Algeria, Cameroun, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Mauritius, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, and the United Arab Republic (Egypt);
Asia-Pacific
Australia, Tajikistan, Burma, Ceylon, Republic of China (Taiwan), Korea, Kuwait, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, and Thailand;
Europe
Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, the USSR, and Yugoslavia;
South America
Guyana and Venezuela;
North America, Central America and Caribbean
Barbados, Canada, Cuba, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States.
Diverse countries were absent due a diverse motives and financial reasons: among the list are Spain, South Africa, the People's Republic of China, and many South American countries.
Legacy
Place des Nations as it appeared in 2006
Man and His World (1968–1984)
After 1967, the exposition struggled for several summer seasons as a standing collection of international pavilions known as "Man and His World".[63] However, as attendance declined, the physical condition of the site deteriorated, and less and less of it was open to the public. After the 1971 season, the entire Notre Dame Island site closed and three years later completely rebuilt around the new rowing and canoe sprint (then flatwater canoeing) basin for Montreal's 1976 Summer Olympics.[64] Space for the basin, the boathouses, the changing rooms and other buildings was obtained by demolishing many of the former pavilions and cutting in half the area taken by the artificial lake and the canals. By this point, both major transportation systems for the site, the Blue Minirail and Expo Express, had permanently ceased operation.
In 1976, a fire destroyed the acrylic outer skin of Buckminster Fuller's dome, and the previous year the Ontario pavilion was lost due to a major fire.[65] With the site falling into disrepair, and several pavilions left abandoned and vandalized, it began to resemble ruins of a futuristic city.
In 1980, the Notre Dame Island site was reopened (primarily for the Floralies) making both islands simultaneously accessible again, albeit only for a brief time. Minor thematic exhibitions were held at the Atlantic pavilion and Quebec pavilion at this period. After the 1981 season, the Saint Helen's Island site permanently closed,[63] shutting out the majority of attractions. Man and His World was able to continue in a limited fashion with the small number of pavilions left standing on Notre Dame Island. However, the few remaining original exhibits closed permanently in 1984.[66]
Park and surviving relics
The former Expo 67 American Pavilion became the Montreal Biosphère, an environmental museum on Saint Helen's Island.In 1992, the Pavillion de la France was refurbished and is now the home of the Montreal Casino
After the Man and His World summer exhibitions were discontinued, with most pavilions and remnants demolished between 1985 and 1987, the former site for Expo 67 on Saint Helen's Island and Notre Dame Island was incorporated into a municipal park run by the city of Montreal. The park, named Parc des Îles, opened in 1992 during Montreal's 350th anniversary[67] In 2000, the park was renamed from Parc des Îles to Parc Jean-Drapeau, after Mayor Jean Drapeau, who had brought the exhibition to Montreal. In 2006, the corporation that runs the park also changed its name from the Société du parc des Îles to the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau.[67] Today very little remains of Expo but two prominent buildings remain in use on the former Expo grounds: the American pavilion's metal-lattice skeleton from its Buckminster Fuller dome, now enclosing an environmental sciences museum called the Montreal Biosphere;[65] and Habitat 67, now a condominium residence. The France and Quebec pavilions, now interconnected, now form the Montreal Casino.[68]
Part of the structural remains of the Canadian pavilion survive as La Toundra Hall.[69] It is now a special events and banquet hall,[69] while another part of the pavilion serves as Parc Jean-Drapeau's administration building.[70] (Katimavik's distinctive inverted pyramid and much of the rest of the Canadian pavilion were dismantled during the 1970s).
Place des Nations, where the opening and closing ceremonies were held remains, however in an abandoned and deteriorating state. The Jamaican, Tunisian and partial remains of the Korean pavilion (roof only) also survive, as well as the CIBC banking centre. In Cite du Havre the Expo Theatre, Administration and Fine Arts buildings remain. Other remaining structures include sculptures, lampposts and landscaping. The Montreal Metro subway station Berri-UQAM still has an original "Man and His World" welcome sign with logo above the pedestrian tunnel entrance to the Yellow Line. La Ronde continued to be operated by the City of Montreal following the Expo. In 2001 it was leased to the Texas-based amusement park company Six Flags, which has operated the park since.[71] The Alcan Aquarium built for the Expo remained in operation for a number of decades until its closure in 1991. The Expo 67 parking lot was converted into Victoria STOLport, an experimental short-take off airport for a brief time in the 1970s.[72]
The Olympic basin is used by many local rowing clubs.[64] A beach was built on the shores of the remaining artificial lake. There are many acres of parkland and cycle paths on both Saint Helen's Island and the western tip of Notre Dame Island. The site has been used for a number of events such as a BIE-sponsored international botanical festival, Les floralies.[73] The young trees and shrubs planted for Expo 67 are now mature. The plants introduced during the botanical events have flourished also.
The Czechoslovakian pavilion was designed to be disassembled and sold, attracting the interest of the province of Newfoundland, though its bid was not preferred by the Czechoslovakian government at first. On September 5, 1967, Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie Flight 523 crashed during takeoff from Gander International Airport, and many people were saved by the residents of Gander, which may have led to Newfoundland's purchase offer being accepted. It was assembled as the Grand Falls Arts and Culture Centre, now the Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts.[74] The government of Newfoundland also purchased the Yugoslavian pavilion, a triangular building that was converted into the Provincial Seamen's Museum in Grand Bank.[75]
One of the few Vaporettos that shuttled visitors around the park on "Expo Service No. 5" survived. After it was decommissioned it ended up in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island in 1971 where it gave harbour tours. It was later moved to Nova Scotia and then New Brunswick. It has subsequently been renovated and returned to Charlottetown.[76]
Expo's lasting effects
In a political and cultural context, Expo 67 was seen as a landmark moment in Canadian history.[77] In 1968, as a salute to the cultural impact the exhibition had on the city, Montreal's Major League baseball team, the Expos (now the Washington Nationals), was named after the event.[63] 1967 was also the year that invited Expo guest Charles De Gaulle, on July 24, addressed thousands at Montreal City Hall by yelling out the now famous words: "Vive Montréal... Vive le Québec... Vive le Québec Libre!" De Gaulle was rebutted in Ottawa by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson: "Canadians do not need to be liberated, Canada will remain united and will reject any effort to destroy her unity."[58] In the years that followed, the tensions between the English- and French-speaking communities would continue. As an early 21st-century homage to the fair, satirists Bowser and Blue wrote a full-length musical set at Expo 67 called The Paris of America, which ran for six sold-out weeks at Centaur Theatre in Montreal in April and May 2003.[78]
Expo 67 was one of the most successful World Exhibitions, and is still regarded fondly by Canadians.[77] In Montreal, 1967 is often referred to as "the last good year" before economic decline, Quebec sovereignism (seen as negative from a federalist viewpoint), deteriorating infrastructure and political apathy became common.[79] In this way, it has much in common with the 1964–65 New York World's Fair. In 2007, a new group, Expo 17, was looking to bring a smaller-scale — BIE sanctioned — exposition to Montreal for Expo 67's 50th anniversary and Canada's sesquicentennial in 2017.[80] Expo 17 hoped a new world's fair would regenerate the spirit of Canada's landmark centennial project.[80]
50th anniversary
Starting in the spring of 2017, as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for Expo 67, the city of Montreal and the committee in charge of the celebrations of 375th anniversary of the founding of the city put forward a commemoration program including fourteen events.[81]
Between March 17 and October 1, the McCord Museum presented Fashioning Expo 67, an exhibition focused on the fashion and esthetic that was put forward during the Expo.[82]
At the Museum of Contemporary Art, the exhibition In Search of Expo 67 offered nineteen works of art by artists who were born after the 1967 universal exposition. Their work was inspired by Expo 67 and shed a new light and vision on this event.[83]
Echo 67 was presented at the Montreal Biosphere starting on April 27. This exhibition presented the environmental legacy of Expo 67.[86]
Outdoors exhibitions and events were presented across downtown Montreal. From September 18 to 30, 2017, the central square of Place des Arts was the site of a multi-screen installation Expo 67 Live, with images of Expo 67 projected onto exterior surfaces of arts complex, some as high as five storeys. The 27-minute work was produced by the National Film Board of Canada and was intended to create an immersive sense of being back at the world's fair, while also evoking the NFB's pioneering multi-screen production at Expo, In the Labyrinth. The installation is directed by Karine Lanoie-Brien[fr] and produced by René Chénier.[87]
In April 2017, the city hall of Montreal offered its visitors an exhibition of photographs taken during Expo 67.
On April 25, the documentary thriller Expo 67 Mission Impossible premiered at the Maisonneuve theatre. It presents the story of the men and women who made Expo 67 a reality and uses archival footage and exclusive interviews with the creators of the 1967 World Fair. The film premiere was part of an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1967 universal exposition.[88]
When visiting these locations and taking part in these events, visitors had access to an electronic or paper passport in which they could collect stamps, just as it had been the case during Expo 67.[89]
In popular culture
A major portion of the movie "A Thief Is A Thief", which was the pilot episode of the television series It Takes A Thief, was filmed at the Expo in 1967.[90]
An episode of the 1970s television series Battlestar Galactica, "Greetings from Earth Part 2", was filmed at the Expo site in 1979. The Expo structures were used to represent a city on an alien world where the people had all been killed by a long-ago war.[91]
The Canadian band Alvvays released a video for the song "Dreams Tonite" in which they have been digitally inserted into footage taken during the fair.[92] The band said in a statement that Canada was at its coolest 50 years ago in Montreal at Expo '67".[93]
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a period of time, typically between three and six months.
The Bureau International des Expositions is an intergovernmental organization created to supervise international exhibitions falling under the jurisdiction of the Convention Relating to International Exhibitions.
Jean Drapeau was a Canadian politician who served as mayor of Montreal for 2 non-consecutive terms from 1954 to 1957 and from 1960 to 1986. Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include the development of the Montreal Metro entirely underground mass transit subway system running on 'whisper quiet' rubber wheels, a successful international exposition Expo 67 as well as the construction of a major performing arts centre, the Place des Arts. Drapeau also secured the hosting of the 1976 Summer Olympics and was instrumental in building the Olympic Stadium and then world's tallest inclined tower. Drapeau was responsible for securing a Major League Baseball franchise, with the creation of the Montreal Expos in 1969. Drapeau's main legacy is Montreal's attainment of global status under his administration. He was the longest serving mayor of Montreal.
The Japan World Exposition, Osaka, 1970 or Expo '70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan between 15 March and 13 September 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as Ōsaka Banpaku (大阪万博). It was the first world's fair held in Japan and in Asia.
"Vive le Québec libre !" was a phrase in a speech delivered by French President Charles de Gaulle in Montreal, Quebec on July 24, 1967, during an official visit to Canada for the Expo 67 world's fair. While giving an address to a large crowd from a balcony at Montreal City Hall, he uttered "Vive Montréal ! Vive le Québec !" and then added, followed by loud applause, "Vive le Québec libre !" with particular emphasis on the word libre. The phrase, a slogan used by Quebecers who favoured Quebec sovereignty, was seen as giving his support to the movement.
Expo '98 was an official specialised World's Fair held in Lisbon, Portugal from Friday, 22 May to Wednesday, 30 September 1998. The theme of the fair was "The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future", chosen in part to commemorate 500 years of Portuguese discoveries. The Expo received over 10 million visitors in 132 days, while 143 countries and many organizations were represented.
Saint Helen's Island is an island in the Saint Lawrence River, in the territory of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It forms part of the Hochelaga Archipelago. It is situated immediately offshore from Old Montreal on the southeastern side of the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, and is part of the central borough of Ville-Marie. The Le Moyne Channel separates it from Notre Dame Island. Saint Helen's Island and Notre Dame Island together make up Jean-Drapeau Park.
The Montreal Casino located in Montreal, Quebec, is the largest casino in Canada. Situated on Notre Dame Island, in Jean-Drapeau Park, it consists of two former Expo 67 pavilion buildings. The casino is open to the public seven days a week, operating morning until late night. It first opened on October 9, 1993.
Notre Dame Island is an artificial island in the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is immediately to the east of Saint Helen's Island and west of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the city of Saint-Lambert on the south shore. Together with Saint Helen's Island, it makes up Parc Jean-Drapeau, which forms part of the Hochelaga Archipelago. To the southeast, the island is connected to the embankment separating the seaway and Lachine Rapids.
The Expo Express was a rapid transit system consisting of five stations and a 5.7-kilometre (3.5 mi) route, running from Cité du Havre to La Ronde in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Built for the 1967 World's Fair at a cost of around CAD$18 million, the trains carried 1,000 passengers each and ran approximately every five minutes.
The Biosphere, also known as the Montreal Biosphere, is a museum dedicated to the environment in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is housed in the former United States pavilion constructed for Expo 67 located within the grounds of Parc Jean-Drapeau on Saint Helen's Island. The museum's geodesic dome was designed by Buckminster Fuller.
La Ronde is an amusement park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was originally built as the entertainment complex for Expo 67, the 1967 world's fair. Today, it is operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, under an emphyteutic lease with the City of Montreal until 2065. In-addition to being the Six Flags chain's northernmost location, La Ronde is the largest amusement park in Quebec and the second-largest in Canada.
Jean Drapeau Park is the third-largest park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises two islands, Saint Helen's Island and the artificial island Notre Dame Island, situated off the shore of Old Montreal in the Saint Lawrence River.
Expo 67 was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The opening week began at the end of April 1967. The official opening ceremonies for the 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67 occurred on Thursday, April 27 at the Place des Nations pavilion. On Friday, April 28, Expo 67's doors opened to the public and Al Carter was the first of over 310,000 visitors that day.
The Expo 67 International and Universal Exposition featured 90 pavilions representing Man and His World, on a theme derived from Terre des Hommes, written by the famous French pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Goose Village was a neighbourhood in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its official but less commonly used name was Victoria town, after the adjacent Victoria Bridge.
Expo 2017 Astana was an International Exposition which took place from June 10 to September 10, 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The expo's theme was "Future Energy", and aimed to create a global debate between countries, nongovernmental organizations, companies and the general public on the crucial question: "How do we ensure safe and sustainable access to energy for all while reducing CO2 emissions?"
The Québec Pavilion was a pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal on Notre Dame Island. It featured modern architecture and exhibited Quebec's urban and industrial growth.
The Brussels International Exposition of 1910 was a world's fair held in Brussels, Belgium, from 23 April to 1 November 1910. This was just thirteen years after Brussels' previous world's fair. It received 13 million visitors, covered 88 hectares and lost 100,000 Belgian francs.
The Minirail was an automated monorail system on Saint Helen's and Notre Dame islands in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The network was built for the 1967 World's Fair, and continued to operate for Man and his World. The system consisted of three independent circuits operated by two different types of trains: the larger "Blue" that ran mostly on Notre Dame Island, and the smaller "Yellow" which ran on the north and south ends Saint Helen's Island.
References
Notes
↑ Although Île Sainte-Hélène was the main island, and would become the name of islands in the archipelago, the earth-fill was dumped on what was then Île Ronde, site of the future amusement park La Ronde.[28]
↑ During the original 1967 CBC broadcast, reporter Lloyd Robertson mentioned the estimated audience numbers on air.[40]
↑ OECD (2008). Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Local Development Benefits from Staging Global Events. OECD Publishing. p.54. ISBN978-9264042070.
↑ Banter, Bill (March 29, 1963). "'Dazzling' Future Viewed for Saint Helen's Fair Site". Montreal Gazette. p.1. St. Helen's Island late yesterday won the blessing of the Federal Government as site of the 1967 World's Fair
1 2 3 "Expovoyages" (Press release). Canadian Corporation for the 1967 World Exhibition. August 15, 1966. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved June 14, 2007.
↑ "1967 Our Summer of Love". The Gazette. Montreal. CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc. April 28, 2007. Archived from the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jackman, Peter (October 30, 1967). "Expo – It's All Over After 185 Days, 50 Million Visitors". The Ottawa Journal.
↑ "The Canadian Pavilion". Buildings With A Tale To Tell. City of Montreal. 2007. Archived from the original on April 17, 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2007.
The Expo 67 Collection at McGill Library's Rare Books and Special Collections includes publications, ephemera, unpublished documents, and many artifacts from Expo 67.
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