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Montreal Olympics (1976)

Last modified: 2016-10-01 by rob raeside
Keywords: olympics | montreal | olympic rings | letter: m |
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Official flag
[Canadian Olympic flag] image by António Martins-Tuválkin and Zach Harden, 28 April 2006
Proportions: 1:2

reported small version
[Canadian Olympic flag] image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 14 August 2016
Proportions: 2:3

See also:


Description of the flag

The Montreal Olympic flag had a white logo on red background. The logo was created by Georges Huel. It was used on flags, banners and table flags, according to an article in Vexilla Belgica by François Beaudoin (1982).
Luc Baronian, 9 May 2005


Variants of the flag

There was also another variant in 1:2 with "Montreal 76" underneath the logo.
Marc Pasquin, 28 April 2006

I checked Souvenir program I have of the 1976 Olympics and the few photographs of the flag (including the cover) show it indeed in a 1:2 ratio (without inscription), probably so it would look nice next to the Canadian flag. So is the Olympic flag incidentally.

As the one I mentioned is based on a photography of an actual one, this variant might simply exist as table flags, maybe even as the used by the candidacy committee before 1976.
Marc Pasquin, 29 April 2006

[Canadian Olympic flag] image located by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 18 March 2014

 At http://www.ebay.com/itm/351013086160 is an offer for a small flag of the 1976 Olympics. It's apparently yet another variation, as according to the seller it's approximately 3:5. Design-wise it's the style with the text underneath, but in this case it's the French text: Montréal 1976.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 18 March 2014

[Canadian Olympic flag] image located by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 August 2014

A table flag, described as ca. 3:5; just the emblem and a copyright symbol.
Source: https://www.etsy.com/listing/108448212
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 August 2014

[Canadian Olympic flag] image located by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 August 2014

Souvenir pennant. Though it's in English, it does write "Montréal". Since none of the flags in this message show "Montreal" without accent, I'm beginning to wonder whether such flags really existed.
Source: https://www.etsy.com/listing/191906016 
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 August 2014

At http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/graphics/montreal-olympics-poster-2 is a a bilingual poster, but with the name spelt "Montréal" in both languages.

At http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/graphics/montreal-olympics-poster-2 is the other well-known one. It has just the name of the city and the year, and it does not show two forms of that name.

The report consistently uses "Montréal" - http://olympic-museum.de/o-reports/report1976.htm. Even the model flag shows the name with an accent (of sorts) on the e.

In my opinion, Marc was right that there was a 1:2 version with the name and "76" underneath the logo, being the early version of which a model is in the photograph mentioned above, but wrong in that the name was not written "Montreal", but "montréal". So far, I've seen no other design with just "76", rather than "1976", and no version with the e without the accent. Only an even earlier design might conceivably have had "montreal".
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 September 2014


Montreal games flag in Moscow

[Canadian Olympic flag] image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 14 August 2016

At the Moscow games, the Olympic flag was passed on from Montreal to Moscow, both represented by a small delegation, each accompanied by flags with their own symbol. Moscow had the vertical flag, Montréal in Moscow had in contrast a white flag with red emblem. .

A video on YouTube shows this ceremony; the link below will show the flags (though they show in other shots before it showing them as well): http://youtu.be/TC4jJ4G34bA?t=5m44s
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 14 August 2016