From Melbourne 1956 to Brisbane 2032, Australia's Olympic legacy
Australia is one of the six countries to host the Summer Games more than once.
5 minBy Ali Asgar Nalwala
Australia, known for its proud sporting culture, has always been at the forefront of the Olympic movement.
Australia have hosted the Olympic Games twice – Melbourne 1956 and Sydney 2000. It will roll out the red carpet for the Summer Games once more for Brisbane 2032.
Australia is also one of the six countries to host the Summer Games multiple times.
The United States will host the Games for the fifth time with the LA 2028 Olympics. The United Kingdom has been a three-time host. France will also stage the Summer Games for the third time at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Greece, where the inaugural edition of the modern Olympic Games was held in 1896, has also played the hosts twice. Germany and Japan have staged the Games on two occasions.
Melbourne 1956: An Olympics of many firsts
The Melbourne 1956 edition, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, was held from November 22 to December 8. The city won the right to host the 1956 Olympic Games by one vote over Buenos Aires.
A total of 3,314 athletes - 376 women and 2,938 men - from 72 countries took part in the historical Games in 145 medal events.
The international teams assemble in Melbourne Cricket Ground for the opening ceremony of the 1956 Summer Olympics on November 22 1956.
The Soviet Union bagged 98 medals, including 37 golds, and led the medals table. The United States came second with 74 medals, including 32 gold, and Australia came third with 13 golds and an overall tally of 35 medals. The third place on the medals table remains Australia’s best finish at the Olympic Games.
Eight of Australia’s 13 gold medals came from swimming events. Murray Rose won individual golds in the men's 400m and 1500m freestyle and was also part of the gold medal-winning men's 4×200m freestyle relay team. It was the first time at the Olympics that semi-automatic, digital-display timing devices were used for swimming events.
Murray Rose, winner of the 400m swimming event at the Melbourne Olympics, signs autographs for young fans. Rose won two other gold medals at Melbourne, for the 1,500m and the 4x200m freestyle relay.
Runner Betty Cuthbert claimed gold medals in the women's 100m, 200m races and 4x100 relay to become the first Australian triple gold medallist in a single Olympics.
The Melbourne Games was also an edition of many firsts with several groundbreaking initiatives. It was the first Summer Games held outside of Europe and North America and played a huge role in globalising the Olympic movement.
Moreover, it was the first Games to embrace the power of live television broadcasts which captivated the audiences worldwide.
One of the most enduring legacies of Melbourne 1956 was the introduction of a heartwarming gesture at the closing ceremony. All athletes walked together as one, embodying the core principles of the Olympic spirit.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also had great political success in managing to bring together the two Germanys (East and West) within a combined team (EUA) competing under a black, red and yellow flag with the Olympic rings.
Sydney 2000: The ‘best ever’ Olympics
Sydney took centre stage as the host city for the Olympic Games in the year 2000.
While only a few had the luxury of television sets when Australia hosted the Melbourne Games in 1956, the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were watched by billions around the world.
A massive crowd of around 110,000 people watch the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games held at Stadium Australia.
Athletes from two Korean countries marched together during the Opening Ceremony wearing the same uniform. It was the first time the athletes from these two countries marched together at the Olympic Games.
The Sydney Games were held from September 15 to October 1 with 10,651 athletes (4,069 women, 6,582 men) from 199 countries taking part in 300 medal events. Additionally, four individual Olympic athletes from East Timor also competed in the Games.
Almost 50,000 volunteers helped keep Australia’s biggest sporting event in history on track.
Triathlon and taekwondo were two new additions to the Olympic programme while women took part in weightlifting and the modern pentathlon for the first time.
The USA topped the medals tally with 37 golds from 93 medals and were followed by Russia, who claimed 32 gold medals from a total of 89. The People’s Republic of China came third with 58 medals, including 28 golds.
Australia came fourth with 58 medals that included 16 golds, 25 silvers and 17 bronze - their then-best total medal return from the Olympics.
Simon Fairweather won Australia’s first and only gold medal in archery to date. Australia also achieved success in the team events with nine of the 16 gold medals coming in those events.
At the Closing Ceremony, the then-IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch declared the Sydney Olympics the “best ever”.
Ready for Brisbane 2032 Olympics
As Australia prepares to host the Olympic Games once again in Brisbane 2032, the nation's sporting legacy continues to evolve.
Brisbane was awarded the hosting rights for the Olympic Games in July 2021 and will become the third Australian city to host the Summer Games.
The Queensland capital will stage the Olympic Games from July 23 to August 8, 2032, and the Paralympic Games from August 24 to September 5, 2032. The Brisbane Organising Committee for the 2032 Olympics has already identified 37 world-class venues for the Games.
