The 1956 Olympic Games were held in Melbourne from 22nd November until 8th December,and were a huge success, launching the Australian city,and to some extent the whole country, on the world stage with a whole new image.(1) _______________________________________________________.After that, two former Lord Mayors of Melbourne,convinced that their city could cope with the demands of staging the world’s most famous sporting festival,decided to lobby intensively on behalf of the city they loved.Funding the trips from their own pockets,without even asking for help from local taxpayers, local businesses or the Olympic Committee,(2) ________________________________________,concentrating particularly on Commonwealth and European countries.When they were lobbying members of the Olympic Committee,who would be voting to decide which city secured the 1956 games,and the main advantages they pushed were the city’s planned new international airport,the large amount of space available to stage the Olympics,and the agreeable south hemisphere climate,but it was the latter two factors that really swayed the Olympic Committee voters.At the games themselves, Australian athletes achieved extraordinary success, third in the medal table only to the USA and USSR.(3) ___________________________________.The event proved to be attractive to hundreds of thousands of visitors during and after the games,with the city’s already excellent transport infrastructure.The games were also an exceptional advertisement for Australian goods and services and the tourism industry.
