Consulting Services / Workshop / Studio
The Marathon Beneva de Montréal wanted to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Olympic Games in a way that felt bold, meaningful and unmistakably Montréal.
The idea? Turn its own racecourse into the stage for a commemorative stunt — right at kilometre 19.76 of the 2026 edition.
Courons, the organization behind the Beneva Montréal Marathon, was looking for an agency capable of delivering a fully turnkey experience on the course while celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Montréal Olympic Games.
The challenge was just as ambitious as the idea itself: everything had to be installed and dismantled on the same day, with less than 90 minutes allotted for each operation.
In the heart of Jarry Park, along Saint-Laurent Boulevard, the 2026 Marathon Beneva de Montréal featured a milestone as symbolic as it was memorable: kilometre 19.76.
The number was no coincidence. It was a direct tribute to the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Olympic Games.
Despite the technical realities of building and striking an activation in record time on one of Montréal’s busiest streets, Celsius created a visual and sound experience designed to make time stand still — if only for a few strides.
At that precise point on the course, runners were transported back to the atmosphere of the marathon at the 1976 Montréal Olympic Games, paying tribute to the athletes who had raced through the city 50 years earlier and inspired an entire generation.
But the experience was never meant to look only to the past. Its message was firmly focused on what comes next: The torch is yours.
Your turn to inspire the next generation.
Your turn to pass on the desire to move, push further and live an active life.
Your turn to carry the legacy forward.
Celsius’ Workshop and Graphic Design Studio joined forces to create an immersive experience that brought the achievements of 1976 face to face with those of today.
Two striking 13-foot columns, each embedded with a replica of the iconic Montréal 1976 Olympic torch, marked the entrance to a zone designed as a meeting point between generations of runners.
Today’s athletes came face to face, symbolically, with the marathoners of 1976, brought back to life through carefully restored archival photography and reproduced on dramatic 4′ x 8′ panels.
An accordion-style scenic installation gave the imagery a sense of movement and depth, creating the impression that the runners of the past were literally moving toward those of today. The immersion extended into sound. An audio track built from excerpts of the original 1976 Olympic marathon broadcast recreated the intensity, emotion and roar of the crowd that greeted athletes as they entered the Olympic Stadium at the end of the race.
Finally, volunteers from a Montréal running club, joined by a DJ, brought the zone to life with nonstop encouragement and a soundtrack featuring some of the biggest French- and English-language hits of 1976.
It was a true step back in time, designed to propel today’s runners forward with the energy of those who came before them. That’s what we call passing the torch.
