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Expo 67 Was a Really Big Show

One of the major World Exhibitions of the 20th century, Expo 67 opened April 28, 1967, in Montreal, Canada. The theme was “Man and His World,” named after the title of a book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Over the six months it was open, 50 million visitors attended. 

With architectural delights plus the foods and culture of 62 countries, the present and future presented by Expo 67 looked bright--and at times, computerized.  A new metro zipped hordes of visitors from downtown Montreal to the fairgrounds, where there was also a free express and elevated mini-trains. One innovation sounds familiar today: as 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 magazine described it, “To take care of the influx of visitors, a travel bureau, called Logexpo, has been set up, complete with computer, to direct out-of-towners to Montreal’s 174,500 listed hotel, motel and private rooms.” Not too surprisingly, the part with the rooms in strangers’ homes didn’t always work out to everyone’s satisfaction.  

The reporter for 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 also remarked on the prevalence of film in almost every exhibit, including one “near-psychedelic setting in which films are projected onto five different screens simultaneously.” 

The Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Quebec described the spirit of Expo 67 as reflecting the later 60s’ sexual freedom and conquest of space. Use of plastic was en vogue with designers. “Pervasive warm shades such as yellow, orange and red displayed their energy and radiance. This blossoming also expressed itself in the use of round or spherical shapes, which frequently appeared in both objects and graphic production.” 

The enormously successful spectacular attracted world leaders and prominent figures like Queen Elizabeth, Lyndon B. Johnson, Charles de Gaulle, Grace Kelly, Jacqueline Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Marlene Dietrich. Musicians like Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Thelonious Monk, Tiny Tim, Bing Crosby, Harry Belafonte, Marvin Gaye attended and performed, and Ed Sullivan broadcast two programs from Expo 67, featuring the Supremes, Petula Clark, and others.