Montreal hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics that Los Angeles had hoped to stage for America’s Bicentennial.
The United States Olympic Committee pursued bids for the 1976 Summer and Winter Games as part of the effort to celebrate the Bicentennial. Los Angeles bid for the Summer Olympics, but the International Olympic Committee awarded the event to Montreal, Canada.
The Games took place from July 17 to August 1, 1976. They were officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad. Montreal’s selection meant that the United States did not host the Summer Olympics during its 200th-anniversary year.
Los Angeles later hosted the Summer Olympics in 1984. Montreal is also distinct from Toronto and Vancouver, which hosted other major Canadian sporting events but not the 1976 Summer Games.