The Olympic Park: A Summer Must in Montreal
Montreal, November 2, 2022 – The summer of 2022 brought record traffic to the Olympic Park. The venue’s rich and varied summer programming attracted over 268,000 visitors, cementing its role as a tourist and local entertainment hotspot for Montreal’s east end.
Rocking Montreal with Major Events
The Olympic Park brought back some major events to the city this summer. Among them, Metro Metro – one of Canada’s biggest urban music festivals, Fuego Fuego – a brand-new Latin music festival, and Montreal Pride – the largest LGBTQ2+ gathering across the francophone world. The site also served as the official finish line for runners in the Montreal Beneva Marathon, and was host to JACKALOPE, the biggest action sports festival in Canada. And there’s more. There was the MSO on the Esplanade free end-of-summer concert, and the city’s largest ephemeral terrace with First Fridays, a monthly street food event now in its 10th year.
The Îlots76 family activity village and terrace brought the main square around the Sports Centre and Biodome to life with an inflatable playground for little ones and mouth-watering food for all ages. All events and attractions combined, the Olympic Park’s Esplanade surpassed 268,000 visitors this season – a record number.
“The strong upturn in tourism has boosted excitement for our summer activities,” said Alain Larochelle, Vice President of Business Development and Operations at Olympic Park. “The Esplanade has become one of Montreal’s top social venues and a real economic driver for the city’s east end. We celebrate this year’s successful season with immense pride.”
About the Olympic Park
Created on November 1, 2020, the Olympic Park (Société de développement et de mise en valeur du Parc olympique), replaces and modernizes the mission of the Régie des installations olympiques (1975-2020). It has the double mandate of developing, managing, promoting and operating its facilities, as well as showcasing its Olympic heritage and legacy.
The Olympic Park manages five main assets: the Olympic Stadium, the largest amphitheatre in the country; the Montreal Tower, the tallest inclined tower in the world; the Sports Centre, Canada’s main aquatic and sports training centre; the Esplanade and outdoor areas, the city’s main gathering and event venue; and the largest underground parking in the country.
A bold architectural creation by Roger Taillibert, the Olympic Park was built both to host the 1976 Summer Games and be the home of the Montreal Expos baseball club (1977-2004). Since its inauguration, it has hosted thousands of sporting, cultural, social, civic and public events, shaping Quebec’s event history, with over 120 million visitors since its opening. Forty-five years after its construction, this large park in the east end of the city has an undeniable heritage value, particularly in terms of history, emblematic architecture and urban design.
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Source:
Cédric Essiminy, Olympic Park
514 209-8176
Media inquiries:
Mathieu Latour, annexe
450 544-1332