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Thousands of people around the world cram into their local roads, to contribute to the joyous roar of the crowd as a runner pounds past, bearing a flickering flame above their heads.
Athletes become celebrities, grinning at the world first from a podium amidst a colorful snowstorm of confetti, then from orange cereal boxes under the fluorescent glow of the grocery store.
Today the Olympics are synonymous with fanfare. I’m sure we’ll be seeing plenty tonight at the opening ceremony in Vancouver. What few people know is that before the 1960 Winter Olympics, and Walt Disney’s involvement in them, the Games looked a lot different.
The book “Snowball’s Chance: The Story of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games Squaw Valley & Lake Tahoe” by David C. Antonucci tells one version of the events that took place that year. Amongst the tales collected by Antonucci is the story of Walt Disney as the Head of Pageantry for the event.
Walt Disney took his job seriously. He brought trusted friends and colleagues — Art Linkletter, personal friend and live broadcaster of the Disneyland opening; Tommy Walker, the man responsible for the parades and fireworks at Disneyland; John Hench, Imagineer — to his Olympic entertainment team.
Some of the most notable contributions to the 1960 ceremony were made by Imagineer John Hench. Sent by Disney to Quebec to study ice sculptures, Hench created 32 sculptures for the Games.
The majority of them were over sixteen feet tall. The only two not reaching that height were instead used to bracket the Tower of Nations (another Hench design) in the center of the presentation area. Now ice sculptures are a common sight at the Winter Olympics.
Perhaps Hench’s most memorable work for the Winter Olympics was the torch. The design Hench made for the Olympic Torch that year is the one on which all future torches have been based.
But what did Disney do himself? He made sure the Olympic ceremonies flashed and dazzled with his famous brand of magic. Olympic officials reportedly complained to Disney about the costs he was incurring, but he didn’t allow that to deter him.
The specs for Walt Disney’s celebrations of the opening and closing ceremonies were staggering: thousands of participants, many singing and playing instruments (including over 50 high school bands from California and Nevada), all culminating in the release of 2,000 pigeons.
Nothing quite like that had been done before, at least for the Olympics. And though the Olympic ceremonies were Disney’s main show, his involvement in the Games celebrations didn’t end there.
Disney commissioned 30 flag poles, one for each of the countries participating in the events, made and engraved with the names of their sponsors. After the Games, sponsors were allowed to take their flag poles home. In doing this Walt Disney introduced another Olympic first, one that’s common today: having official Olympic sponsors.
In addition, when Olympic officials realized that given the record-setting entertainment offered by Disney for the event, they would also need someone in charge of tickets, parking, and security. Guess who they picked for the job.
So though it doesn’t immediately seem that there’s any connection between Walt Disney, still most famous for his films, and the Olympics, his famous touch is everywhere. When the ceremonies get their grand kick-off tonight in Vancouver, with all the pageantry, celebration, and corporate advertising they now entail, we’ll have Walt Disney to thank.
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Filming the Disney Christmas Day Parade
*(This image by kevindooley is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
