History Through Our Eyes: May 5, 1975, lining up for Olympic tickets

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“If you weren’t in line long before the 9:30 am store opening, chances are you’re out of luck for some of the Games’ most prestigious events.”

Montrealers line up to buy vouchers for Olympic tickets at Eaton's department store on Ste- Catherine St. on May 5, 1975.
Montrealers line up to buy vouchers for Olympic tickets at Eaton’s department store on Ste- Catherine St. on May 5, 1975. Photo by Michael Dugas /Montreal Gazette

“Eaton’s outlets across Canada were overrun in yesterday’s first day public sale of vouchers for Olympic tickets — and if you weren’t in line long before the 9:30 am store opening, chances are you’re out of luck for some of the Games ‘most prestigious events,” we reported in our May 6, 1975 edition.

Michael Dugas’s photo, which ran on Page 1, showed the lineup outside the downtown department store.

As it turned out, many of those in line early were out of luck anyway, depending on what they had hoped to buy. More than a few of the most desirable ticket vouchers had already been scooped up in the “advance priority” sale, we wrote.

As host nation, Canada was entitled to 65 per cent of all tickets. Various people and groups got first crack at that allotment, including sports federations, medical volunteers, Olympic lottery employees, city councilors and federal MPs, we reported. The biggest of those groups was the Olympic organizing committee, COJO, with 500 employees, of whom 425 took full advantage of the opportunity to buy vouchers for 20 tickets, we said.

The first two people in line, 20-year-old McGill students from the United States, had spent nine hours in the “chilling drizzle” after arriving at midnight. They were not disappointed, but then, they did not have their sights set on the expensive seats. One said he had got everything he wanted because he bought a standing room.

As for the Games themselves, a long wait remained. The opening ceremony was still more than a year away.

History Through Our Eyes: Photos of People and Events That Shaped 20th Century Montreal, which compiles the original 2019 series in book form, is available online from montrealhistorybooks.com and at local bookstores. A portion of proceeds from books sold at the online address will go to the Gazette Christmas Fund.


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