Getting ready to lift those 'made-in-Canada' Olympic rings up into the Montreal skyline

Getting ready to lift those 'made-in-Canada' Olympic rings up into the Montreal skyline
Photo Credit: radio-canada

Canadian Olympic House opening July 9th

Canadian Olympic House will open its doors to much fanfare on July 9th, The day before the Pam Am Games get under way in Toronto, there will be a celebration of the Olympic legacy in Montreal.

Carl Vallee, Executive Director of Communications for the Canadian Olympic House says the occasion is known as ‘Canada Olympic Excellence Day’.   With games, such as beach volleyball to be played on the tons of sand trucked in for the event, families and friends of the Olympics are invited to join the celebration that will open the new attraction in the city, and meet some of the new Olympic athletes and officials as well.

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Canada Olympic Excellence Day

Thomas Bach, president of the IOC will be here, revisiting his glory days. In 1976, Mr. Bach won gold for Germany in Fencing.  Perhaps he has a soft spot for the city, as he and colleagues on the International Olympic committee gave Montreal permission to display the much-guarded logo, the Olympic rings, in colour, on the top of the building that houses the site.

“the whole world of sport, media included”

The idea for it all began in 2009 when Marcel Aubut became president of the Canadian Olympic Committee.  The committee has offices in Toronto and Montreal, but in Montreal he discovered a window-less office in the basement of the iconic Olympic Stadium. He found the location totally unbecoming to such an immense legacy.

As the first French-speaking president of the COC, he wanted to celebrate the legacy of Canada’s first Olympic city and the successful experience in 1976.

While many Montrealers may remember the Olympic legacy as one of immense debt, and a stadium that has never worked, with ongoing problems with the supposedly retractable roof and falling concrete, which is still the subject of much debate, perhaps some are ready to turn the page.

That’s what the organizers are hoping. They’re planning a major street party at the intersection of the downtown building with visitors able to try out different sports and meet the athletes.

Carl Vallee, says, the “whole world of sport, including the media” will be here. Most of them will be in Toronto for the opening of the Pan Am Games on July 10th, but Montreal is just an hour flight away.  Let the celebrating begin!

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