Olympic Stadium - Montreal
Built for the 1976 Summer Olympics, the Olympic Park has become one of the most universally recognized Montreal landmarks.
About
A daring architectural site, the Olympic Park was built to accommodate the 1976 Summer Olympics and has since been host to more than one hundred million visitors. Whether to admire Montreal from atop the highest inclined tower in the world, to attend an event in the Stadium, to exercise at the Sports Centre—which is also home to major national and international competitions—or to take part in an outdoor event at the Esplanade Financière Sun Life, there is something for everyone at the Olympic Park.
The Olympic Park grounds and its thirteen on-site partners are visited by more than three million people every year. Open to the world and in harmony with the neighbouring community of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, the Olympic Park has become a unique recreational and tourist attraction where creation, discovery, entertainment, and sport coexist side-by-side.
Today, the Olympic Park is home to:
The Stadium
Sports events (including Montreal Impact matches), salons, fairs, shows, exhibitions, film shoots, events social, etc: the Olympic stadium accommodates many events.
Since its inauguration in 1976, more than 67 million visitors have come and it has, along with the famous Montreal Tower, become the international symbol of Montreal!
Equipped with some 56,000 seats in the stands, it is the only covered amphitheater in Quebec that can shelter large scale events.
Designed by French architect Roger Taillibert, the Olympic Stadium is a unique monument: its design evokes gigantic hands with curved fingers, the 34 cantilever panels, with four shortened panels at the base of the Tower, determine the overall geometry of the Stadium. They support the technical ring, the roof and the electronic score boards.
The Tower - It will take your breath away!
At 165 metres, the Montreal Tower is the tallest inclined tower in the world! Its 45-degree angle is awe-inspiring, especially when you consider that the Leaning Tower of Pisa’s tilt is only 5 degrees!
From its summit, visitors can admire the entire Greater Montreal region and up to 80 kilometres of the St. Lawrence River valley. A breathtaking panorama, it has been awarded a three-star rating—the highest available—by the renowned Michelin Guide!
A common question from visitors is how can a structure with an incline as dramatic as the Montreal Tower stand?
The answer to this riddle lies in mass ratio: the top of the tower has a mass of 8,000 tonnes which is permanently attached to the infrastructure and the solid concrete base buried ten metres below ground level. This base has a mass of 145,000 tonnes, or the equivalent of three aircraft carriers!
Visitors can reach the top of the Montreal Tower on a mesmerizing climb in a glass-encased funicular that holds up to 76 passengers.
The funicular is the only one in the world that operates on a curved structure. It has a hydraulic system that allows the cabin to remain horizontal during the two-minute ride to the top.
The Sports Centre
Whether for a family swim, swimming lessons or competition, the Olympic Park Sports Centre offers a wide range of aquatic activities for young and old, novice swimmers or professional athletes.
The Esplanade Financière Sun Life
After 35 years of inactivity and for the first time in its history, the Olympic Park has revitalized its Esplanade in the summer of 2012.
This huge outdoor space of 380,000 square feet, located east of the Olympic Stadium and only used for medals ceremonies in the Olympics of 1976, has now become the Esplanade Financière Sun Life.
The Esplanade Financière Sun Life presents a colourful, vibrant, and diverse line-up throughout the entire summer, focused on sport and physical activity, sustainable development and culture. Do as some 325,000 tourists and visitors since 2012, and come enjoy a variety of performances, shows, physical activities, and many more free outdoor events, during both summer and winter!
The site of countless large-scale and significant sporting, entertainment, and cultural events since its inauguration in 1976, the Olympic Park is rich with history. Highlights include the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, concerts by Pink Floyd, Madonna, and Diane Dufresne’s Magie Rose, the Grey Cup, the operas Aïda by Verdi and Turandot by Puccini, the XXIII World Gymnastics Championships, and of course, Montreal Expos baseball games.