1956 Summer Olympics

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The XVI Summer Olympic Games, held in Melbourne, Australia, were the first to be held in the Southern Hemisphere.

As the Australian government did not want to relax its quarantine procedures for the Olympic event, the Equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden.

Due to the Suez Crisis, Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon withdrew from participating in the 1956 games. The Soviet Union's presence in Hungary resulted in the withdrawal of the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, and influenced the direction of one of the most famous water polo matches in history. Just prior to the games the People's Republic of China pulled out in protest over the Republic of China being allowed to compete.