1956 - Melbourne, Australia

1956 - Melbourne, Australia

The 1956 Olympic Games hosted by Melbourne were the first Olympics held in the Southern Hemisphere; thus the Games were held in November and December.

Unfortunately, the Games were marred by two political events that occurred before the opening of the Games. Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon boycotted the Games to protest the invasion of Egypt by Israel (which was coordinated by both Britain and France in a dispute over the Suez Canal). The Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland boycotted the Games to protest the Soviet Union's invasion of Budapest, Hungary in order to quash an uprising.

The closing ceremonies were introduced during the 1956 Olympic Games.

Because of the two political events and the distance to Australia, only 3,500 athletes from 57 countries participated in the Games.