The Boycotts Of The Olympics In Melbourne 1956

First Games to be boycotted
• Melbourne 1956 was the first time boycotting occurred in the Olympic Games.
• Countries boycotted the games to show the association between sport and politics. They did not agree with the political events occurring at that time and therefore boycotted the Melbourne 1956 games. It was a way of proclaiming their desire for change and expression of protest.
• Three significant boycotts included
1) Spain, Switzerland and Netherlands boycotted due to the invasion of the Soviet Union on Hungary (Lucretia, 2017).
2) Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq boycotted due to the Suez Canal Crisis (Lucretia, 2017).
3) China boycotted due to the International Olympic Committee acknowledging Taiwan (Lucretia, 2017).
Global Political Climate

• This match was an expression of nationalism, as it was very violent demonstrating the tension between the USSR and Hungary (Rinehart, 1996).
• The games were an opportunity for USSR to dominate over Hungary’s uprising and an opportunity for Hungary to obtain national pride (Rinehart, 1996).
• Thus, winning the gold medal was embedded with political feelings, hence the extreme violence towards Hungary for their winning and the happiness they felt when they won was liberating in History (Rinehart, 1996).
The Suez Canal Crises
• History of the Canal: The Suez Canal connected the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It was constructed by Egyptian workers. The Suez Canal Company was owned under the British and French (Kecskes, 2001).
• Purpose of the Canal: To transport oil to Britain to sustain their economy (Kecskes, 2001).
• Consequence of nationalizing the canal: The transportation of oil to Britain would cease and thus jeopardize Britain’s economy (Kecskes, 2001).
• The crisis began with Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizing the Canal (Kecskes, 2001).
July 26,

November 7, 1956
• The United Nations established the United Nations Emergency Force to keep the peace until the politicians could better handle the situation (Kecskes, 2001).
The relationship between China and Taiwan is jeopardized.
• China did not participate in the games when IOC acknowledged Taiwan (Espy, 1981).
• The communists won the Chinese Civil War and so many Chinese refuges were brought to Taiwan by Chiang Kai-shek. The Chinese leader emplaned a martial law at the expense of the residence of Taiwan because Taiwan citizens resented the refuges he brought (Espy, 1981).
• The IOC did not have enough knowledge to know what was happing in China, however in the end, the IOC recognized Beijing-China and Formosa-China (Espy, 1981).
Australia was not a suitable place to host the sport events
• Equestrian games were moved to Stockholm as Australia’s policy did not allow for horses to enter the nation. This was problematic as the unity of time and place was violated in the Olympic Charter (Jobling, 1994).
Avery Brundage
• First president of the IOC to organize the Summer 1956 Olympics in Australia (Rinehart,