Vancouver - Expo 86 - Part I

[@akana_]

I was born in Vancouver two decades ago, and if I have lived here my whole life. If I could go back in time to any point in history, it would be expo 86. To me nothing is more symbolic of international cooperation and progress than coming together for good in my hometown. Plus, the Expo’s theme of transport is something I have always liked, especially as a long time rapid transit enthusiast.

[@je55777]

I was thinking the same thing - those who got to experience this are so, so lucky. It's like something out of a movie

[@smartcl]

I just travelled half world around - from Greece to B.C.- to visit the expo. I was 18 y.o. and surely I still remember it. I think Vancouver was (and hopefully still remains) one of the most beautiful cities all over wolrd. Very nice and polite Canadians, thanks for the great time I had there!

[@ThePoobears]

very nice comment @smartci...

[@Jerry-hp5sf]

I played in the Navy Band based in Seattle and we marched in and played for the opening ceremony in the stadium. Princess Diana and Prince Charles were right in front of our band. A moment I will never forget.

[@scottw4603]

Ya I was there with my grade 8 class from Pacific Academy

[@scottw4603]

34 years ago this month

[@KBSlate]

I performed with the Commodores Youth Band There, I was 14 Years old then.

[@starwarsrebel2006]

I worked in a restaurant at EXPO 86. I was 19 years old and had a blast for the entire 6 months. Also, I got to use my employee pass to get free admission into the site and to any pavilion. I saw every pavilion, sight, event, etc. during the 6 months of Expo. Great memories!

[@scottw4603]

Did you like the pavilion of Promise?

[@starwarsrebel2006]

@@scottw4603 Loved it. It really was a great time to be young.

[@Imperatore7777]

It was a great time my parents had a 3 day pass, i loved growing up in the 80's best decade.

[@Fan_Made_Videos]

I went there with my family in July '86. Great memories and the sense of awe for the future was palpable, unlike today. I also love the corny Casio synth theme trying to emulate Miami Vice LOL

[@MissHellithRaiser]

I got a swatch watch from expo 86 Truly a magical time the 80s 🙌🏻

[@poodtang1]

I remember this like it was yesterday. The Skytrain was new and clean, not yet crime ridden. The Expo site False Creak was fresh and not left abandoned for many years. This really started to Put Vancouver on the map.

[@disneyplay4]

My uncle was telling me they had drain out the false creek so many industrial waste it had.

[@LaurenAnyone]

I love the totally 80's music. I wasn't alive for this, but my parents had a really cool poster so I put it in my room. :) Hopefully the Olympics will be successful! :D

[@nolbertos]

I remember Expo 86 vividly. I was 8 years old and living at UBC during that time. Every weekend I would go with my folks and ride the roller coaster, log chute, pirate ship and many other countless rides that were in Playland. I remember it was a big moment in our city. All my friends had souvenirs from Expo. I had an Expo pencil, shirt and many other tidbits. This put Vancouver on the map globally for sure and started the Asian migration that continues to this day.

[@EmperorJinx151]

I was there when I was 16 with my grandmother her friend & son. It was great. Still think of it & I still have the items I purchased there like a panda from the Chinese pavilion. & the Fan I got there as well.

[@mr.mediocregamer9653]

Sorry for the loss of your grandma.

[@SuperDelta000]

the best years of vancouver

[@HanakoFairhall]

Wow, this is incredible, I was at the ripe old age of 2 1/2 when Expo 86 started, and in those days, I lived up in the Okanagan Valley. Thank you for sharing this =)

[@jeffdon4]

I was there in 86. Brings back so many memories of the good old days

[@P7777-u7r]

Back when BC was great.

[@johnnysama]

Was born half a year after it ended.... I wish I was around for it! Vancouver = one of the coolest cities in ze world!

[@arejayseeottawa]

25 years ago this month, I travelled west with my parents to see Expo 86. It was such a beautiful experience, one which put Vancouver on the map!

[@nathanhester1155]

I was told if I kept farting audibly in front of house guest I wouldn't get to go to expo 86. I held my farts the entire time.

[@maelan3701]

OMG I WISH THERE WAS ANOTHER FESTIVAL CLOSE TO SCIENCE WORLD AGAIN PLEASE!!!!

[@Stephanie1974]

The highlight of my childhood was being able to be there.

[@5dave1]

In '86 my wife and I flew from Los Angeles to Vancouver and stayed at a "bed & breakfast" for 3 days and took in the Expo 86....What fun! I recall loading up on Chinese food in China-town as well. Took the cable sky ride. I remember the CN exhibit was fantastic. I learned so much about the Canada Rail system. I think that large ball of an exhibit is still there for the 2010 Olympics. The BC folks were great.............Thanks!

[@loriannejohnston9427]

I actually worked there....I will never forget seeing Princess Dianna. It was a wonderful 6 months.

[@malcolm341]

I went to this when I was a kid in 1986, it was the shit. 30 years later I actually live right where the fair took place in False Creek, I wish they would have left some of those structures, so cool.

[@ternaldo]

thank you so much for uploading. really appreciate it =]

[@ethicomm]

I remember feeling a bit depressed that several of my friends were working at the USA and CN Pavilion and I was working at a boring job in Surrey. It felt like I was missing out on all the action at times. However, I lived in Kitsilano and would ride my bike around the city at night which was great. The city was in overdrive and electric. People from all over the world, parties and fireworks every night. You couldn't beat it!

[@decafjava8565]

20 years old here and my family had a season's pass...we saw every damn pavilion!! It was worth it though.

[@MustangErin]

I remember going to Expo 86. I was 11 and my parents bought season passes. I think we still have them as a keepsake. They took your picture so it was like a drivers license. My parents used to have me be out of school for the days that we went as there were smaller crowds there during school hours.

[@159329]

the Skytrain sound is an awesome sound! Reminds me of Vancouver

[@cbman4767]

I was invited in as a visiting dignitary and remembering it raining on the girls in white jumpsuits. Everything went see through on that day. Thank you girls for providing something to look at.

[@Ian16545]

0:24 - I remember this scene from "If I Had Wings", a song from one of my old videos as a kid, Hap Palmer's _Turn on the Music._

[@VanIsleNuckFan]

We had a seasons pass...One of the best memories of my life.. I was very young, but remember it quite vividly.. Probably so prominent because it was viewed through the eyes of a child.. =)

[@klvvt]

I worked in the Commissioner General's Suite under Patrick Reid, the Commissioner of the Exposition. It was the greatest year of my life. I met so many people from all around the world. I'd love to be in touch with others who worked there!!

[@LIFEinMOLLYWOOD]

I was there too and had a great time. I love World's Fairs!

[@el_chino778]

Wow, thank you so much! I was there when I was young. I also went to Aichi Expo and now going to Shanghai Expo 2010!

[@Mykevin67]

Oh my god. This is hilarious. I love the 80's club music near the beginning...sounds like Divine and the Living On Video cowgirl cheerleaders at the end. Also the Canada rainbow emblum. I worked in theYellow section of the fair, a lot of fun. This is where the parachute drop and the Ramses Egyptian Pavillion were located. We used to go party at the old Tommy Africa's under the Granville St. Bridge after work.

[@Rocko6716]

my favorite time I loved it I am going memory lane tonight looking at the book

[@someguy120100]

Damn my grandpa got to go to Expo 86.That sucks I wish I was born in 1970 something so I can see it =( Fuck to bad you cannot turn back time

[@missshellybeach]

The organisers of world expo 88 in Brisbane Australia 2 years later took a lot of inspiration from world expo 86 site such as building a monorail system and and influenced some of the building designs on the site

[@CivilianDeathMachine]

Me and most of my schoolmates had just turned 17, when Expo rolled into town... The first couple of weeks were the Best! The weather was raining (go figure in Yvr? LoL!)...but the rides were easy to get on! Rush played the Pacific Coliseum on May 17th...and it wasn't long after,,,, The Sun Shone Bright! right through to October, when Expo finally closed its' doors! Expo 86 was Brilliant! Hats off to Jim Pattison, the Socreds and Everyone who had a part working on it, or in it!

[@clutchcrazy888]

Too bad all that beautiful greenery is now multi-million dollar homes for Chinese investors looking for a place to park their money, homes that stay vacant all year round. Pretty sad.

[@carsonstorey1894]

clutchcrazy888 ikr Can’t believe how all of that space is now taken up by houses 🏠 that sit there vacant Really sad

[@carsonstorey1894]

Tim Tian it’s not racist, it’s the truth

[@P7777-u7r]

Tim Tian so what. Go back to China then. British Columbians aren’t allowed to buy land in China

[@P7777-u7r]

@Paul McGrannite I'm not from Vancouver thank fuck however it's a strategic loss to BC as a whole. I would just nationalize all of the land in the lower mainland and do a lot of forest and farmland reclamation while more plentiful denser and more compact housing is built to address the complaint of transit times and housing shortages. The iry should be subordinate to the rest of British Columbia because we have multiple options for ports and we are fine up here but when the lower mainland gets cut off from the interior for a day it threatens to send their world into chaos. I would love to see Vancouver try to survive without the hydro and oil and gas they hate.

[@decafjava8565]

@@P7777-u7rI agree, I grew up in Surrey and Langley and now live abroad. Sad what happened to BC and Canada as a whole.

[@Sonicwolf359]

Expo '86 didnt go out of business. Expo '86 was a 6 month scheduled worlds fair. There is one held every few years in different cities around the world. For Example : Expo '82 in Knoxville, USA - Expo '84 In New Orleans, Expo '85 in Japan, Expo 86 in Vancouver, Expo 88 in Brisbane, Austrailia etc. The next worlds fair is in Spain in 2008.

[@Kyoruakaio]

Dude, the music. I love it, it's so stereotypically 80's

[@rlai2201]

I remember this... I was actually there @ the opening ceremony in presence with Princess DIana and Prince Charles. I was one of the selected ones to perform by my elementary school teacher. I MISS THOSE DAYS! I LOVE Vancouver so much... I wish it was like before.. everyone seem to be more friendlier back then... there's too much violence these days here... I don't like it!!!

[@annetteslife]

I haven't been to Vancouver for decades and was wondering if anyone knows if the Expo building is still there or has it since been demolished?

[@Lalfy]

HA! I also was 4 yearold old when my parents took me there. I wish I would have remembered something.

[@donkim5323]

Oh. It look more developed than Vancouver in 2020. What have happened to Vancouver?

[@eugene680]

First of all, I live in Vancouver. Was Expo '86 alot of fun? I went there once or a couple of times but I was only 7, so I was too young to understand what it truly was. All I remember seeing are dragonboats, monorail, largest ice hockey stick and all these different attractions. But for the 2010 Olympics, I was old enough too understand what it is.

[@AndrewNeilFalconer]

This was a frequent shooting location for the 1986 NBC Show "Stingray".

[@NHLinden]

man i wish i was alive to witness this

[@TheShamusOfSlots]

Society evolves, and the idea of a World Exposition has almost become outdated. First class execution in Expo 86 ... and many people had their only experience of Vancouver during this time. It came in $3 million under budget ... almost unheard of.

[@noahandrew1937]

+The Shamus Of Slots Super Slot Fan Site Turned the city into an absolute shit show

[@KeatonDee]

@Shukria123 There was still drug abuse, crime, homelessness, and poverty in 1986. Just not as much.

[@oz_media]

Wonder which world;s fair they were at. Expo86 was confined to False Creek from Cambie bridge to Science World. It was expensive if you actually paid for stuff I guess, but there was enough free beer and free entry was a cake walk due to the size of the surrounding fence.

[@Maxobillion]

I loved Expo but I hated what it did to this city. I wish the foreigners who came here to visit Vancouver in 86 left... instead... our city is too crowded now.

[@poodtang2104]

I never got to go in the Expo ball, Science World. The line up was always too big.

[@Elmware]

@orionpirates If you're lucky it might come back in 2036 or you might have to wait until 2086. Expo 86 was basically fair to celebrate Vancouver's 100th birthday, much like other World's Fairs. The reason I say maybe 2036 is because it's bi-centennial which would be Vancouver's 150th birthday. Even then I'm not sure if they would hold such an event for this.

[@batdude2196]

We saw Charles and Diana on opening day in person at Expo 86 like feet away. Charles did not shake my hand though I tried. Diana went straight to the car, she was not well in those days

[@Arkstrikle]

i was 14 at expo 86 around august i went went on the scream machine and the holding bar popped open nearly fell out..

[@Vancitysinge]

expo rocked we had season passes i was 8

[@orionpirates]

I hope Expo comes back to Vancouver in 2016. Why did it go out of business?

[@beatlecorner]

Do you know if this footage is in the public domain?

[@MRayner59]

Spent a nice summer day there hopping between various overcrowded pavilions and the overpriced beer gardens. Sucks to realize that taxpayers laid out countless millions on the pretense of hosting a "world's fair" which in fact was just an excuse to re-develop the site for the benefit of wealthy land owners and the rich tenants who now inhabit it.

[@VanIsleNuckFan]

That's not true at all.. The land lay vacant for many years and was essentially worthless... Even you sir had the chance if you had the gusto, to get some investors together and be one of those rich "owners" which you obviously would very much like to be. It helped Vancouver's economy greatly, and essentially made the city what it is today..

[@retro_wizard]

Any chance we could get a full reupload? (Better quality?, been a while since ‘07)

[@Sonicwolf359]

Unfortunately this was recorded off an old VHS tape. Already as good as it will get.

[@retro_wizard]

@@Sonicwolf359 still, compression techniques have come a long way since then, you'd be able to get a much greater picture. I believe standard definiton is comparable to 720p instead of 240.

[@mbailey802]

Who owns this video?

[@flaminginferno465]

Cool

[@blackbirdpie217]

My wife and I went, drove in from Washington state. It was the most disappointing experience I think I've ever had. We spent quite a while looking for a parking spot. It was behind some building with a concrete walkway above, and with all the endless rain we were soaked and cold. We never did find the front of the expo, all we saw was one hall where some kids had made art projects at home. It looked like an elementary school open house. That's all we saw. No ball building, no monorail, nothing. I just couldn't find anything interesting there at all and couldn't wait to get back to the US at least I was warm and dry there. This film is interesting because I never saw any of this. Where the hell was it? Nowhere near the parking lot I can tell you that.

[@VanIsleNuckFan]

Wow, maybe you should have tried looking at a map, Vancouver, at its downtown core, really isn't that big.. sour grapes eh..

[@Rocker5593]

wow imagine the 1 in China in 2010 being considered better then all others combined??? i guess the opening ceremony was the best, there was like a parade to the arena then there was an indoor show in the arena and then a laser light show on the river and being China the fireworks were mid blowing u can even see the president of the BIE sitting there just blown away it was nutz!!! but i don't know about the whole expo better then all others combined thats pretty scary i don't know who came up with that title

[@lexy604]

Wow i was 4 yo lol but i remember it

[@MrPlaidFace]

I was 9 years old

[@agne1211]

Princess Diana was there as well?

[@Fireglo]

If you watched the video you'd see she was.

[@mr.mediocregamer9653]

@@Fireglo No, that was cyborg Diana, a synthetic being tasked with opening theme parks.

[@LESTERNIDOY]

Cool I was not born in 1986 i was born in 1989

[@davidstair9657]

It…was…soooo…cool!!!! We were all gay! But not in the sinful waaay!! Whoooo hooooo!!!

[@weaksauce11]

i like this cus there's no angry persians or asians:(

[@titily]

I remember all the uproar of how much it would cost.....haha !! Now we have the 2010 Winter Olympics.... with a new wave of whiners complaining of costs....haha !! and the wheels on the bus go round and round!! All I can say is this, it is now the land for the rich only due large in part to Expo 86, it will only get worse with the Olympics, unless people finally get to see that it rains here 8 months/year

[@oz_media]

It was no different in 86, just fewer "people". Definitely abused a lot of drugs at Expo, crime was just a matter of everything being free at Expo (admission, souveniers, beer etc) and the bums still hung out on Smithe st begging for spare change.

[@pucksprattle]

Loved Expo. The music here is way 80s. Princess Di does NOT look happy.

[@ThePoobears]

geesh time flew since then I was 17 then times were so simple then.. miss Expo 86 was the bomb...

[@elephantgrass631]

It would sound sooooooo wrong if the skytrain didn't have that "climbing engine" sound.