Parc Jean-Drapeau sits across Saint Helen’s Island and the artificial Notre Dame Island in the Saint Lawrence River, just east of downtown Montreal. Originally established as the city’s first major public park in 1874, the islands were reshaped in the 1960s and became world-famous as the site of Expo 67, the World’s Fair that drew more than 50 million visitors. Today the park’s open lawns, former Expo pavilions, and riverside plains make it one of Montreal’s premier outdoor concert grounds.
The park’s largest concert space can hold about 65,000 people, making it the biggest outdoor music venue in the city. It is best known as the home of Osheaga, the multi-day music and arts festival that has hosted acts like Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, U2, and The Weeknd across stages with names like River, Mountain, and Valley. The park has also hosted Heavy MTL, Vans Warped Tour, and the long-running electronic music series Piknic Électronik, founded in 2003 on the park’s Plaine des Jeux.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Saint Helen’s Island & Notre Dame Island, Montreal, Quebec
- Type: Outdoor park & festival grounds
- Opened: 1874 (as public park)
- Size: About 209 hectares (520 acres)
- Capacity: Around 65,000 at the main outdoor concert site
- Famous for: Osheaga Music and Arts Festival and Piknic Électronik
A Festival Ground Born from Expo 67
The islands that make up Parc Jean-Drapeau were dramatically expanded in the 1960s using rock and earth excavated during construction of the Montreal Metro, transforming Saint Helen’s Island and creating Notre Dame Island from scratch to host Expo 67 in 1967. Several pavilions from that World’s Fair still stand in the park today, including the Montreal Biosphere, and the grounds were renamed Parc Jean-Drapeau in 1999 in honor of the mayor who brought Expo 67 to the city.
That legacy of large-scale public gathering carried directly into the park’s modern life as a concert venue, giving festival organizers wide open lawns, river views, and existing infrastructure that few other North American cities can match for a downtown-adjacent festival site.
Osheaga and the Summer Concert Season
Osheaga launched at the park in 2006 and has grown into one of the largest music and arts festivals in North America, spreading performances across multiple stages over three days each summer. Piknic Électronik has run nearly every summer Sunday since 2003, turning a corner of the park into a dedicated home for electronic music beneath a large Alexander Calder sculpture.
Beyond these recurring events, the park’s grounds have also hosted Vans Warped Tour and Heavy MTL, cementing its reputation as Montreal’s go-to space for major outdoor concerts and festivals.
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Parc Jean-Drapeau FAQs
What is Parc Jean-Drapeau known for?
It’s a public park on Montreal’s Saint Helen’s and Notre Dame Islands, originally the site of Expo 67, that today serves as the city’s largest outdoor concert venue and home to the Osheaga festival.
How many people can Parc Jean-Drapeau’s concert site hold?
The main outdoor concert grounds can accommodate roughly 65,000 people.
What festivals take place at Parc Jean-Drapeau?
The park hosts the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival and Piknic Électronik, and has previously hosted Heavy MTL and Vans Warped Tour.
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Photo: Cédric Thévenet / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.