Melbourne Cricket Ground

This guide to the Melbourne Cricket Ground centers on the night of 22 November 1956, when over one hundred three thousand people packed the stadium for the Olympic opening ceremony. It follows Ron Clarke, an eighteen-year-old and still largely unknown miler chosen to carry the flame on its final lap, as he circles the ground trailing sparks and climbs toward a cauldron rigged with a makeshift step. Picture him reaching the top with no rail behind him as you stand on that same turf.