In 1956 the Olympics were staged in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. Melbourne, Australia, was so remote from most parts of the world that the number of competitors was the smallest since 1932.

Australian quarantine laws caused the equestrian events to be held separately, in Stockholm.

The Melbourne Games were stung by two boycotts. Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon withdrew to protest the Israeli-led take-over of the Suez Canal, and Holland, Spain, and Switzerland boycotted to protest the Soviet invasion of Hungary.

Actually, public pressure in Switzerland was so great that the Swiss Olympic Committee changed its mind and voted to participate after all, but by then it was too late to get the entire Swiss team to Australia in time. The IOC scored a political coup by forcing West and East Germany to enter a combined team.

This practice continued for the next two Olympics.

The 1956 Olympics were also highlighted by an innovation in the Closing Ceremony.

Following a suggestion by John Ian Wing, an Australia-born Chinese carpenter's apprentice, it was decided to let all the athletes march together instead of by nation, as a symbol of global unity.