Ethiopia competed in the Olympic Games for the first time at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Twelve competitors, all men, took part in ten events in two sports.
Denmark competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 31 competitors, 27 men and 4 women, took part in 25 events in 10 sports.
Belgium competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 54 competitors, 51 men and 3 women, took part in 37 events in 12 sports.
Uruguay competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. 21 competitors, all men, took part in 8 events in 5 sports.
Venezuela competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia, and in the equestrian events held in Stockholm, Sweden. Twenty-two competitors, all men, were selected by the Venezuelan Olympic Committee to take part in sixteen events across five sports. The delegation featured no female competitors, for the second time, and won no medals. While most of the Venezuelan athletes did not advance past the qualifying rounds of their sports, there were some good placings in the shooting, with Germán Briceño and Carlos Monteverde finishing in the top 10 of their events.
Chile competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. 33 competitors, 31 men and 2 women, took part in 22 events in 8 sports.
Arnaldo Pambianco is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist who was active between 1956 and 1966. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1961 Giro d'Italia. He competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in the road race and finished in seventh individually and fourth with the Italian team.
Athletes from the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. 35 competitors, 32 men and 3 women, took part in 16 events in 8 sports.
France competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 137 competitors, 119 men and 18 women, took part in 95 events in 15 sports.
Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. 189 competitors, 163 men and 26 women, took part in 108 events in 17 sports.
Germany was represented at the 1956 Summer Olympics by a United Team of Germany of athletes from the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and, for the first time at Summer Games, also from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) which had not joined in 1952. Also, the Saarland athletes who had to enter as a separate team in 1952 could now join in even though the accession of their state was not yet in effect. Thus, this was the only Olympic team ever to comprise athletes from three German states.
Austria competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 29 competitors, 24 men and 5 women, took part in 33 events in 11 sports.
Italy competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 129 competitors, 114 men and 15 women, took part in 76 events in 13 sports. As the country hosted the next Olympics in Rome, an Italian segment was performed at the closing ceremony.
Finland competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 64 competitors, 63 men and 1 woman, took part in 62 events in 14 sports.
Czechoslovakia competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. 63 competitors, 51 men and 12 women, took part in 54 events in 10 sports.
Mexico competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. 24 competitors, 21 men and 3 women, took part in 20 events in 10 sports.
Luxembourg competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. 11 competitors, 10 men and 1 woman, took part in 22 events in 5 sports.
Colombia competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. The nation returned to the Olympic Games after having missed the 1952 Summer Olympics. 26 competitors, all men, took part in 23 events in 6 sports.
The men's individual road race at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, was held on Friday 7 December 1956. There were 88 participants from 28 nations. Of the 88 starters 44 rode the distance to the end. The event was won by Ercole Baldini of Italy, the nation's first medal in the men's individual road race. Arnaud Geyre took silver, France's first medal since back-to-back golds in 1936 and 1948. Alan Jackson's bronze was Great Britain's first medal in the event since 1896.
The men's coxed four competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Wendouree, Ballarat, Australia. It was held from 23 to 27 November and was won by the team from Italy. There were 10 boats from 10 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. Italy had previously won this event in 1928, tying Switzerland for second-most wins among nations. Sweden (silver) and Finland (bronze) each won their first medal in the men's coxed four. Switzerland had its three-Games silver-medal streak broken, without a Swiss crew competing.
