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Melbourne Olympics 1956: 'Your roving reporter'
From Melbourne to Montreal, Munich to Mexico City, the CBC has roamed the planet to beam Olympic history into Canadian living rooms. We take a look back and, through the eyes of CBC correspondents, experience decades of Olympic triumph and heartbreak. At first, it's via crackling shortwave. Later, live TV coverage flows around-the-clock from the other side of the globe.
There is political intrigue - the brave Hungarian athletes, many of whom participated in a recent unsuccessful uprising, won't talk to a pro-Soviet sportscaster. There's also laughter. Almost everyone grinned when some university students bamboozled Sydney's mayor into thinking the Olympic torch had arrived early at City Hall.
. Canadians heard live Olympic Reports from 8:30 to 8:45 a.m. EST on the Trans-Canada Network, CBC's main radio service. The CBC Times, an internal publication for employees, reported: "For two years the CBC has been testing overseas reception in the early morning, and it appears to be a satisfactory time." The network also aired 15-minute recaps of events every evening, except Sundays, from 7:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
. The 12- to 16.5-hour time difference between Melbourne and Canada meant that listeners tuning into Olympic Report on Thursday morning learned the results of all of Thursday's competitions.
• CBC's first-ever Olympic coverage was in 1948, of the winter Games in St. Moritz and the summer Games in London. Correspondents were dispatched and reported back on the CBC's Trans-Canada and Dominion radio networks. The Olympics of 1944 and 1940 were cancelled because of the Second World War. The CBC was established three months after the 1936 Games in Berlin.
. Although CBC Television debuted in 1952, in 1956 the technology was still too cumbersome to cover a complex sporting event halfway around the world. Newsreels for broadcast on TV and in theatres were technically possible but did not materialize because of a dispute between the Australian Olympic Committee and international broadcasters. Canadians wouldn't be able to watch Olympic events in their homes until 1960.
. When Benson talks about the bravery of the Hungarian athletes, he's referring to the Hungarian uprising a month before the Games began. The Soviet Union, which controlled Hungary at the time, forcefully suppressed the revolt. Thousands of Hungarians were killed and almost a quarter-million people fled the country as refugees. As Hungarian athletes competed in Melbourne, their countrymen at home were negotiating with the Soviet occupation force during a ceasefire.
. Tensions between the Hungarian and Soviet athletes erupted during a water polo semi-final match. A Soviet player head-butted a Hungarian, spilling blood in the pool. The match was halted, handing the Hungarians a 4-0 win. Australian police had to protect the Soviet athletes from angry anti-Communist spectators. Other world events casting a shadow over the Games included the Suez Crisis and tensions between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China.
Program: Olympic Report
Broadcast Date: Nov. 19, 1956
Guest(s):
Host: Thom Benson
Duration: 3:19
Last updated: February 7, 2012
Page consulted on August 22, 2012
All Clips from this Topic
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Thom Benson paints a radio portrait of Melbourne on the eve of the 195...
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Canadians hear - and see - the Rome Games.
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A look at bustling Japan one year before the 1964 Olympics.
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Sportscaster Ward Cornell on the Tokyo Olympics beat.
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The murder of 11 Israeli athletes wounds the Olympic dream.
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(Poor video) CBC's ORTO will tape every event at the Montreal Games.
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Canadians get all Games, all the time.
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The football great gives his two cents on Montreal and its Games.
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The Canadian government wants the broadcaster to join the boycott.
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CBC joins Canada in snubbing the Soviets.
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Don Wittman got an uncomfortably close look at a Munich hostage-taker.
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The IOC raises concerns over U.S.-focused coverage.
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Tanned and taut, L.A. wears the rings well.
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Hometown fans are outraged that a judge's error leaves Sylvie Fréchett...
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Peter Jordan wins a bronze medal in the mud pit belly flop.
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Brian Williams on covering the Ben Johnson roller-coaster.
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CBC pulls all-nighters to show the Sydney Games live.
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