Montreal Olympic Stadium
by MagikUnicorn
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Description
Montreal Olympic Stadium
The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics. It subsequently became the home of Montreal's professional baseball and Canadian football teams. Since 2004, when the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, D.C., the stadium has no main tenant, and with a history of financial and structural problems, is largely seen as a white elephant.
It currently serves as a 66,040-seat multipurpose facility for special events (e.g. concerts, trade shows), and continues to serve as a 76,308-seat venue for playoff and Grey Cup games hosted by the Montreal Alouettes. The Montreal Impact also use the stadium on occasion when a larger capacity venue is needed or when the weather restricts outdoor play in the spring months. La tour de Montréal, the tower incorporated into the base of the stadium, is the tallest inclined tower in the world at 175 metres, and is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers.
The stadium's nickname The Big O is a reference to both its name and to the doughnut-shape of the permanent component of the stadium's roof, though The Big Owe has been used to reference the astronomical cost of the stadium and the 1976 Olympics as a whole.
Pink Floyd attracted the largest ever paid crowd to the Olympic Stadium. The July 6, 1977 event gathered 79,322 fans
It is the largest stadium, by seating capacity, in Canada.
The stadium was designed by French architect Roger Taillibert to be a very elaborate facility featuring a retractable roof, which was to be opened and closed by a huge 175-metre (574 ft) tower – the tallest inclined structure in the world, and the sixth tallest building in Montreal. The design of the stadium is remarkably similar to the Australia Pavilion at Expo '70 in Osaka by Queensland University architect James MacCormick.
The Olympic swimming pool is located under this tower. An Olympic velodrome (since converted to the Montreal Biodome, an indoor nature museum) was situated at the base of the tower in a building similar in design to the swimming pool. The building was built as the main stadium for the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. The stadium was host to various events including the opening and closing ceremonies, athletics, football finals, and the team jumping equestrian events.
The building's design is cited as a masterpiece of Organic Modern architecture. Taillibert based the building on plant and animal forms, aiming to include vertebral structures with sinewy or tentacles, while still following the basic plans of Modern architecture.
The stadium also has various other multipurpose uses.
Montreal hosted Drum Corps International World Championships in 1981 & 1982. The finals were held at Olympic Stadium & prelims at McGill University
On September 11, 1984, Pope John Paul II participated in a youth rally with about 55,000 people in attendance.
Many musical events have taken place at this location, including the famed riots after a Metallica-Guns-N-Roses concert. Metallica frontman James Hetfield suffered second and third degree burns to his left arm after stepping too close to a pyrotechnics blast during the opening of "Fade to Black". Metallica was forced to cancel the second hour of the show, but promised to return to the city for another show.
Instead of taking the stage to make up for the event that had just occurred, frontman Axl Rose instead left the stage in a fit, thus ending the concert prematurely, making the fans in attendance angry and confused, which led to the rioting. See GNR-Metallica Stadium Tour.
British rock band Pink Floyd played an infamous concert at the stadium on July 6, 1977, during which bassist Roger Waters registered his disapproval of the audience's rowdy behaviour by spitting in the face of a fan in the front row. This incident provided the main inspiration for Pink Floyd's next album The Wall, which was written largely by Waters.
Thanks
Magik
Comments (60)
willpee
They have landed and are among us !!!!
jendellas
That is an alien building, I bet the Bots are inside :o)
tamburro
Fantastic shot Magik, amazing place!!! Hugs:)
drifterlee
It looks like a UFO, Magik!
mickeyrony
You know, Real, there is not just a big white elephant in this. I find it amazing and quite impressive. But hey. . It was a great day spent together ((5 + +)) Tu sais ,Réal ,il n'y a pas juste un gros éléphant blanc dans tout cela . Moi je le trouve fabuleux et assez grandiose . Mais bon . .Ce fût une belle journée passé ensemble((5++))
carlx
Wonderful Stadium and capture, my friend!!!
DennisReed
I'm reminded of MIB, and the Seatle Space Needle!
ragouc
Cool POV
tryky5carla
COOL ARCHITECTURE, THANK YOU FOR SHARING , GREAT STORY !!!!!
adrie
Great capture my friend.
DananJaya_Chef
Fantastic architecture, wonderful shot!
dochtersions
What a big spaceship.
unstart
It looks like a space ship!!
M2A
Trés beau design en forme de soucoupe.
mikeerson
Go see Def Leppard there next year, you'll have a great time. Def Leppard plans on touring next year, never checked to see if they stop here, but if it's the largest in your area, I'd bank on it.... if you've never seen them, don't worry, they make people feel good, they don't make them want to tear down the house - lol
sandra46
sublime, stunning image!
doarte
Totally Canadian MU... You Rock the the heights +five of those stars from doarte and the MADHOUSE
kftate
Beautiful capture and wonderful info! Excellent work!!
npauling
A great shape for a stadium and interesting facts about it. Thank you.
Radar_rad-dude
A fascinating capture and wonderful architectural construction! Certainly does make one think of flying saucers! Most extraordinary!
ladylake
What an amazing building. Thanks for sharing.
danapommet
Wonderful capture Magik and brings back many memories from 1976. Dana
psyoshida
The Big O looks like a spaceship. Wonderful info and great shot.
Richardphotos
really an engineering feat and superb shot
jmb007
joli stade!!
Minda
what a great capture mu..
three_grrr
Cool shot .. excellent history!
moochagoo
C'est un vaisseau alien déguisé en stade, mais, chut !
RodS
Wow - it really looks like a spaceship from this angle! Great photo, Magik!
lajasmine
Sur cette photo ...je dirais que c'est une soucoupe pour les martiens ou Montréaliens:) Magnifique capture!