Toronto, Canada was chosen as host city of the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games, beating out rivals Bogota, Colombia and Lima, Peru. The decision was made by the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) on November 6 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The winning city's Can$1.4-billion plan is built around a core of existing and proven world-class facilities used for professional sports, six new athletic venues and a well-designed, sustainable athlete's village on Toronto's waterfront. New venues include a stadium for athletics, indoor velodrome, Canadian Sports Institute facility and Aquatics Centre, as well as two additional 50-meter pools.
The Pan-Am Games are among the premium amateur athletic competitions in the world and Toronto 2015 is expected to attract some 10,000 participants and 250,000 visitors from the 42 participating countries in North, South and Central America and the Caribbean.
The Games are a major international multisport event, held every four years for athletes of the 42 PASO member nations. They consist of all Summer Olympic sports, plus other non-Olympic events, and serve as an Olympic-qualifier for a number of participating sports.
The Toronto 2015 Pan American Games will take place July 10-26 and the Parapan American Games August 7-14. The last edition of the Games was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in July 2007 and the next is set for Guadalajara, Mexico in October 2011.
Situated on the Great Lakes in the heart of North America, Toronto is Canada's largest city and capital of Ontario, Canada's largest province. More than 200 million people live within a three-hour flight or one-day drive of the city, with 30 direct flights to PASO countries on 15 airlines.