Melbourne 1956: Olympic venues overview
Sixteen competition venues were used for the Olympic Games Melbourne / Stockholm 1956. Three of them were in Stockholm, which hosted the equestrian competition due to Australian quarantine regulations at the time. Eleven of the venues existed, one was temporary and four were new.
The existing venues include West Melbourne Stadium. Renamed Festival Hall after the Olympic Games, it became a major concert venue, hosting the likes of The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Now heritage-listed, it was sold to a global charismatic Christian megachurch in October 2020 and continues to host entertainment events and concerts, in addition to weekly church services.
For its part, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is on the Australian National Heritage List and remains one of the temples of world cricket. It is also a major venue for Australian rules football, hosting the season’s showpiece match, the Grand Final.
Located 120km/75 miles north-west of Melbourne, Lake Wendouree is still used as a rowing venue and staged the 2014 World Rowing Masters Regatta.
Three of the five Melbourne venues built specifically for the Olympic Games are no longer in existence: Olympic Park Stadium, the Olympic Velodrome and the Hockey Field, all of which were in the city’s Olympic Park.
Olympic Park Stadium became a leading athletics venue post-Games and hosted the 2001 IAAF Grand Prix final and the Melbourne Track Classic, which was granted IAAF Grand Prix status. The stadium was demolished in 2011 to make way for the Olympic Park Oval, a training ground used by Australian rules football team Collingwood and a public sport and recreation facility.
The Velodrome hosted cycling events through to the mid-1960s but was later under-used as it did not meet the requirements for hosting competitions. It was demolished in 1973, and the Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre and a car park were built on the site.
The Hockey Field was used for greyhound racing and track and field events after the Olympic Games. It was later redeveloped as a training facility for the Collingwood club and is now the site of the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, a 30,500-capacity venue that is home to the city’s rugby league and rugby union team and its two professional soccer clubs.
Because Australia had strict quarantine laws that prevented the importation of horses for the Olympic Games, the three equestrian events were held in the Swedish capital. Stockholm Stadium hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the equestrian events, as well as all the dressage and jumping competitions. Built for the Olympic Games Stockholm 1912, it was the home of the football team Djurgårdens until 2013 and is used for concerts and athletics meets, including a round of the prestigious World Athletics Diamond League. Across the Swedish capital, Lill-Jansskogen Park remains a popular recreational area.