EXPO 86; Reporter who covered Expo 67 compares the two expositions FINAL Edition

• Published in: The Gazette (Montreal)
• Main Author: By BILL BANTEY Special to The Gazette
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Montreal, Que Postmedia Network Inc 16.08.1986
• Subjects: Vancouver
• ISSN: 0384-1294

Architecturally, Expo 86 tends to be a bust - a collection of undistinguished buildings which, in the case of foreign pavilions, constitute a travesty of national expression. Anyone who visited Expo 67 will remember the exciting architecture of the United States, Britain and West Germany, to name only a few countries. There is nothing similar at Expo 86. Comparative costs between the two Expos? Two examples provide something of a yardstick. Expo 67's official guidebook sold for $1. The Expo 86 guidebook costs $6. A three-day passport at Expo 86 is yours for $45. At Expo 67, you may remember, you could buy a passport for the six months of the exhibition for $35. Bill Bantey, president of a Montreal public-relations firm, was the reporter and columnist who covered Expo 67 for The Gazette. For five years, starting in 1962 when Montreal was authorized to hold that exposition, he travelled across North America and Europe to preview Expo for this newspaper and for television. During the six-month run of the exposition, his column was on the front page every day. He wrote a best-selling book, Bill Bantey's Expo 67. Recently, he visited Expo 86 in Vancouver. The Gazette asked him to write one man's very personal comparison of the two expositions.