The XVI Summer Olympics took place in Melbourne, Australia. This was the first time Australia hosted the Olympics, and would not host another one until the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, officially opened the XVI Games to which 72 nations competed in 145 events (17 sports) The Games took place in November because of summer being different in the southern hemisphere. Although there was concern about hosting it in the southern hemisphere because northern hemisphere athletes would be used to resting during the winter.
Bidding[]
| Voting results for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Country | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | |
| Melbourne | Australia | 14 | 18 | 19 | 21 | |
| Buenos Aires | Argentina | 9 | 12 | 13 | 20 | |
| Los Angeles | United States | 5 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Detroit | United States | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Mexico City | Mexico | 9 | 3 | |||
| Chicago | United States | 1 | ||||
| Minneapolis | United States | 1 | ||||
| Philadelphia | United States | 1 | ||||
Construction problems[]
Melbourne nearly lost the Olympics to Rome before the Games, when IOC president Avery Brundage was not impressed with an inspection in April of 1955. Melbourne was way behind on construction because of financial issues and political debates, but at this point, they had managed to get a A$4.5 million loan from the State of Victoria. By 1956 Melbourne was clearly ready for the Olympics and the Games started as planned.
Historic Events[]
- For the first time since World War II, East and West Germany enter the Games as the United Team of Germany
- Because of Australian horse quarantine laws, the equestrian events took place in Stockholm in June the same year, since foreign horses are not allowed in Australia. This was the second time events took place in two different nations.
- This was the first time any Olympic Games were held in the southern hemisphere.
- The Indian national field hockey team won its sixth consecutive gold. The streak ended in 1960, when they only won a silver medal. This is the longest streak of one nation consecutively winning gold at the Olympics in field hockey.
Boycotts[]
- Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden boycotted the Games in protest of the Soviet invasion of Hungary. Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq do the same as a result of the Suez crisis.
- The People's Republic of China refuses to participate due to the inclusion of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
Medal table[]
| Rank | Country | 
|
|
|
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union | 37 | 29 | 32 | 98 |
| 2 | United States | 32 | 25 | 17 | 74 |
| 3 | Australia | 13 | 8 | 14 | 35 |
| 4 | Hungary | 9 | 10 | 7 | 26 |
| 5 | Italy | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| 6 | Sweden | 8 | 5 | 6 | 19 |
| 7 | Germany | 6 | 13 | 7 | 26 |
| 8 | Great Britain | 6 | 7 | 11 | 24 |
| 9 | Romania | 5 | 3 | 5 | 13 |
| 10 | Japan | 4 | 10 | 5 | 19 |
| 11 | France | 4 | 4 | 6 | 14 |
| 12 | Turkey | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 13 | Finland | 3 | 1 | 11 | 15 |
| 14 | Iran | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 15 | Canada | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 16 | New Zealand | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | Poland | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| 18 | Czechoslovakia | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 19 | Bulgaria | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 20 | Denmark | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 21 | Ireland | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 22 | Norway | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 23 | Mexico | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 24 | Brazil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | India | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | Yugoslavia | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 27 | Chile | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 28 | Belgium | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 29 | Argentina | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 29 | South Korea | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 31 | Iceland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 31 | Pakistan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | South Africa | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 34 | Austria | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 35 | Bahamas | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 35 | Greece | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 35 | Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 35 | Uruguay | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Image Gallery[]
See Also[]
- Logos - A collection of logos featuring this event.
- Mascots - The official mascots of this Olympics'.
- Torch - Information about this Olympics' torch.
| Preceded by Cortina 1956 |
Olympics 1956 |
Succeeded by Squaw Valley 1960 |
| Preceded by Helsinki 1952 |
Summer Olympics 1956 |
Succeeded by Rome 1960 |