Suez Crisis Peacekeepers to police the Egyptian–Israeli border, British Prime Minister Anthony Eden resigned, Canadian Minister of External Affairs Lester Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize, and the USSR may have been emboldened to invade Hungary. The Suez Canal was opened in 1869, after ten years of work financed by the French and Egyptian governments. The canal was operated by the Universal Company of the Suez Maritime Canal, an Egyptian-chartered company; the area surrounding the canal remained sovereign Egyptian territory and the only land-bridge between Africa and Asia. The canal instantly became strategically important, as it provided the shortest ocean link between
Egypt at the 1956 Summer Olympics Egypt at the 1956 Summer Olympics Egypt boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, because of the British and French involvement in the Suez Crisis. The equestrian events for the 1956 Games, however, were held in Stockholm, Sweden, five months earlier, due to Australian quarantine regulations, and three Egyptian riders competed in the show jumping events. None of the athletes won individual medals and they failed to place in the team competition due to one rider's failure to finish the individual tournament. Prior to 1956, Egypt had sent athletes to six editions of the Summer Olympic Games and the