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www.celtic-connection.com
NOVEMBER 2008
Patrick Reid Recalls Dramatic Days at Expo 86 and the 1972 Canada-Russia Hockey Series
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N last month's issue of The Celtic Connection the interview with Patrick Reid follows his adventures from his happy childhood in County Donegal to the terrible battles of the Second World War with his regiment the North Irish Horse.
He speaks about his challenges in Singapore as Commander of the 100 Independent Provost Company which was charged with policing postwar Singapore, and eventually to his decision to immigrate to Canada.
One of his proudest achievements in his new homeland was his contribution to the creation of this country's national emblem - the Maple Leaf flag of Canada.
In this issue, we continue the journey as Patrick Reid speaks about his experience as Commissioner General of Expo 86 where he met the Prince and Princess of Wales -Charles and Diana - who were present to officially open the event.
He also recalls the drama in Moscow in 1972 when he accompanied the Canadian Hockey Team to Russia for the historic hockey series between Canada and the Soviet Union.
THE YEAR 1986 proved to be a watershed for Vancouver when the sleepy village by the Pacific was finally launched onto the world stage.
The international exposition with the theme of transportation or the "World in Motion - World in Touch" was known as Expo 86 and it brought 22 millions visitors to the city.
In the eye of the hurricane was Patrick Reid, the Commissioner General of Expo 86. He spoke to The Celtic Connection about the impact of the world exposition on Vancouver and how it became a defining moment in the history of the city.
He said, "we went from a situation where I had to carry a map around with me when I was trying to sell Expo 86 to explain where Vancouver was located, to becoming a place on the international map.
"Amazingly, in the beginning, that happened with quite a number of senior people in government, particularly in Europe, who were unaware of our geographical location.
"At the time we had Expo 86, a lot of things were going on which all came together, particularly as far as Canada's relations with Asia were concerned.
"We did have a fair amount of tourists coming from Hong Kong and Taiwan, but there were also a lot of people immigrating to Canada
By
ICATHOLINE BUTLER
at the time because they were scared about what would happen when China took over Hong Kong in 1997.
"So when we had Expo 86, the door was opening and we were able to take advantage of that. In the process Vancouver became an international destination, not just because of Expo 86, but particularly because of the timing of Expo 86.
"This had an enormous impact on the evolution of the country as well as British Columbia and Vancouver itself.
"I think, in some ways Expo 86 was influential and useful in the promotion of the bid for the 2010 Olympics, because by that time Vancouver was internationally recognized."
He continued, "it's really difficult though to compare Expo 86 and the 8010 Olympics because it's an entirely different beast.
"The Olympics last for a couple of weeks, and the Paralympics for another week or thereabouts, whereas an exhibition such as Expo 86 lasts for six months.
"If there are any weaknesses, you find out, everyone finds out, but also the effect has a more enduring effect over a longer period of time.
"The Olympics, on the other hand, is a television event. I live in Vancouver and you would think that I would want tickets and go to the events, but I'm going to sit in front of a television and watch it. So, it's a television event internationally as well as locally.
"That was not so with Expo 86, people had to be there to feel it and sense it, and they came back time and time again, so they owned it.
"People can't really own the Olympics because it's not really there long enough to be owned.
"In a practical sense, the Olympics are for a relatively small number of elite athletes and international people who deal with winter athletics and that's a little buzz all on its own.
"It's a little cocoon in which they live for their two weeks and the rest of us peer in from time to time."
Both Patrick Reid the Commissioner General of Expo 86, and John Furlong the Chief Operating Officer
for the 2010 Olympics are Irish-born. Patrick Reid spoke about not only being Irish but what is required to take on these challenging positions.
"John is a first class person in every way, and being Irish he has the capacity to do these things well and he will do it well," said Reid. "It's a very hazardous thing to do.
"When I was Commissioner General of Expo 86, I was the first Commissioner General that I know of, who actually survived from the very beginning through to the very end.
"I don't mean that they died but they fell by the wayside although in the case of Pierre Dupuis, who was Host Commissioner General of Expo 67, he died immediately afterwards.
"John Furlong has the same stress, probably more so because he has so much on his shoulders. But, he has obviously brought good people around him and he is smart enough to cover his back politically and every other way. He will survive and he will do extremely well and because of that, the Olympics will be done well."
As Commissioner General of Expo 86, Patrick Reid had the unique opportunity to meet many dignitaries from Canada but also internationally, and he spoke about meeting one particularly high profile couple.
"When Charles and Diana the Prince and Princess of Wales came to open Expo 86, I never expected that I would end up in the middle of a household spat. It was obvious even then that they weren't getting along," he said.
"Princess Diana was very forthcoming and very pleasant and so was Prince Charles. I had met Charles on two or three other occasions. Everything went fine in terms of the introductions at the very beginning until we went up False Creek on the boat and they were out on the prow of the boat with me.
"I was in the middle, and explaining to them what we were seeing as we went along. We proceeded past a First Nations crew in a dugout canoe that Bill Reid had designed, there were bands playing and balloons flying - it was all very exciting.
"Suddenly, the princess said, 'it's getting cold my hair is getting mussed and I'm going inside'. Charles said, 'you can't'. She said, 'I'm gone', and in she went.
"Charles looked at me and shrugged his shoulders and said, 'you understand these things' but I thought that I didn't really understand.
"The two of us stood out on the prow of the boat and did the honours right through until the end of the creek, where we went on to the opening ceremonies.
"Diana finally came off the boat at
PATRICK REID is shown above in the midst of the crowds at Expo 86 with Diana the Princess of Wales.
the end and went to the ceremonies with Charles - it was just a temporary spat.
"A few days later, Alison (my wife) and I had been escorting Charles and Diana throughout various parts of the exhibition, and the Princess swooned in the California Pavilion at the end of a rather gruelling day.
"There was some suspicion that she really hadn't been eating very much because at meals she just pecked at her food.
"A few days later, when the Prince and Princess were leaving, she came up to me and apologized for having caused this rumpus in the California Pavilion.
"I told her that I was terribly sorry for her but it was great as far as we were concerned because we got publicity all over California and the United States. That brought a lot of tourists to Vancouver that we might not have had. So she grinned at that, and off they went."
Another momentous event in Canadian history, where Patrick Reid was once again given a unique insider's view, was the historic Canada-Russia Summit Hockey Series in 1972.
The eight-game series consisted of four games in Canada, held in Montreal (Montreal Forum), Toronto (Maple Leaf Gardens),
Winnipeg (Winnipeg Arena) and Vancouver (Pacific Coliseum) and four games in the Soviet Union, all of them held in Moscow at the (Luzhniki Ice Palace).
The series was played at the height of the Cold War, and intense feelings of nationalism were aroused by the contest in both Canada and the Soviet Union. The series was of particular interest to Canadian residents due to the popular perception that Canada was the "birthplace of hockey."
While Canada won the series four games to three, with one tie, it was the drama that accompanied the event that held the country rivetted. Canadians were glued to their televisions for 27 days engrossed in the hockey players who were setting out to defend something more Canadian than the Maple Leaf on their jerseys.
It began on September 2, 1972 at 8:29 PM Eastern Standard Time, when an American referee named Gordon Lee skated into the centre ice circle at the Montreal Forum and dropped a puck between a Canadian named Phil Esposito and a Soviet named Vladimir Petrov.
In his 18 years as an amateur hockey official, Lee had presided at hundreds of game-opening face offs, but this one was different.
This one he would remember for the
PETER MAHOVLICH with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau at the Canada-Russia Summmit series in 1972.