The Pan American Games is a major sporting event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held among athletes from nations of the Americas, every four years in the year before the Summer Olympic Games. The only Winter Pan American Games were held in 1990. In 2021, there will be a Junior Pan American Games for young athletes. The Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) is the governing body of the Pan American Games movement, whose structure and actions are defined by the Olympic Charter.
The Estadio Olimpico Pascual Guerrero is a football stadium, also used for athletics, concerts and rugby sevens, in Santiago de Cali, Colombia which is named to honor the poet Pascual Guerrero. The stadium and the sports complex that surrounds it were, from the 1950s to the 1970s, one of the finest and most modern sports complexes in Latin America, and led to references of Cali as the "Sports Capital of America".
The fifth Pan American Games were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967.
The seventh Pan American Games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games were held there. It was the third major sporting event held in the Mexican capital in seven years, after the 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1970 FIFA World Cup.
The Rio de Janeiro bid for the 2007 Pan American Games was a successful campaign, first recognised by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) in August 2001. Rio de Janeiro began working on the idea of staging the 2007 Pan American Games during the 1999 Pan American Games held in Winnipeg, Canada. There was a strong desire among sportspersons and officials at that time to work so that the best of national sport could be showcased at home, in a large event using state-of-the-art fields-of-play. Based on this strategic vision, the Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) General Assembly decided in December 1999 that Brazil would not bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics and would instead focus its efforts on the bid for the 2007 Pan American Games. The important results obtained by the Brazilian delegation at the Winnipeg Games and the wide publicity for the event in Brazil encouraged sports authorities to definitely support the Rio de Janeiro bid to host the 2007 Pan American Games.
Four cities submitted bids to host the 2019 Pan American Games and Parapan games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO), all four of which made the PASO Executive Committee's shortlist. PASO selected a host city for the 2019 Pan American Games at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto, Canada on October 11, 2013, which Lima won. The other shortlisted cities were Santiago, Chile, La Punta, Argentina, and Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela.
PASO received bids two to host the 2023 Pan American Games and Parapan games from Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Later in the bidding process, Buenos Aires withdrew their bid, leaving Santiago as the sole bidder. Santiago was elected as the host city on November 4, 2017.
Three cities submitted bids to host the 2003 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization. Santo Domingo was selected by PASO to host the XIV Pan American Games in the second round of voting on December 6, 1998, at its general assembly held in Panama City, Panama.
Three cities submitted bids to host the 1999 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization. The voting took place on July 31, 1994 in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Havana, Cuba was the only non-withdrawn bid to host the 1991 Pan American Games. At the Pan American Games Assembly, from November 12 to 14, 1986, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Mar del Plata withdrew its bid, leaving Havana as the winner to host the Games.
Two cities initially submitted bids to host the 1987 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization. On July 12, 1981, Santiago was selected over Quito by PASO to host the X Pan American Games after the first round of voting at its general assembly held in Caraballeda, Venezuela.
The 2021 Junior Pan American Games is a forthcoming international multi-sports event for athletes aged 18 to 21 in the Americas, organized by Panam Sports to be held in Cali, Colombia between June 2 and 13, 2021.
Two cities submitted bids to host the 1975 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization. On August 29, 1969, Santiago was selected unanimously over San Juan to host the VII Pan American Games by PASO at its 10th general assembly, held in Cali, Colombia.
Two cities submitted bids to host the 1979 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). However, Bolivia dropped out of the race, leaving San Juan as the only candidate city. On May 31, 1973, San Juan was selected to host the VIII Pan American Games by PASO at its general assembly in Santiago, Chile.
Four cities submitted bids to host the 1983 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO); however, only one city, Hamilton, Ontario submitted their bid on time. On April 23, 1977, Caracas, Venezuela was selected over Hamilton, Canada in a two-city vote to host the IX Pan American Games by the PASO at its general assembly in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Three cities submitted bids to host the 1967 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). On April 22, 1963, Winnipeg was selected over Caracas and Santiago to host the V Pan American Games by the PASO at its general assembly in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
For the first time, two cities submitted bids to host the 1963 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). On August 25, 1959, São Paulo was selected over Winnipeg to host the IV Pan American Games by the PASO at the VII Pan American Sports Congress in Chicago, United States.
One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO), along with three cities that withdrew their bids. On March 11, 1955, at the IV Pan American Congress in Mexico City, PASO selected Cleveland unanimously to host the III Pan American Games.
