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 Logo of the 2015 Pan American Games | |
| Host | Toronto, Canada |
|---|---|
| Motto | United We Play |
| Nations | 41 |
| Athletes | 6,123 |
| Events | 364 in 36 sports |
| Opening | July 10 |
| Closing | July 26 |
| Opened by | Governor General David Johnston |
| Cauldron lighter | Steve Nash |
| Main venue | Pan Am Dome |
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| Part of a series on the |
| 2015 Pan American Games |
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The 2015 Pan American Games (French: Jeux Panaméricains de 2015), officially the XVII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (French: Jeux panaméricains de 2015 à Toronto), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, as governed by Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). The games were held from July 10 to 26, 2015 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; preliminary rounds in certain events began on July 7, 2015. These were the third Pan American Games hosted by Canada, and the first in the province of Ontario. The Games were held at venues in Toronto and 17 other Golden Horseshoe communities.[1] The Pan American Games and 2015 Parapan American Games were organized by the Toronto Organizing Committee for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games (TO2015).
The Games hosted 6,123 athletes and 3,396 team officials representing 41 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in the Americas, marking the largest multi-sport event hosted in Canada, in terms of athletes competing.[2][3] A record of 46 percent of competitors were women, the most ever for any multi-sport event.[4] 364 events were contested in 36 sports, which included the 28 sports contested at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro; certain sports also served as qualification paths for these Olympics. Canoe slalom and golf made their Pan American Games debut, as well as women's competitions in baseball, canoeing and rugby sevens.
In 2019, the organizing committee reported that the games came in under budget by $38 million and left a strong legacy for the region with a legacy fund of over $60 million to maintain these structures for a twenty-year period after the Games were held (i.e., until 2035).[5]
Toronto 2015 was largely seen as a precursor for a Toronto bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, which never materialized (Paris will host the 2024 Summer Olympics instead).[6] This would have been Toronto's sixth attempt at an Olympic bid.[7]
Bidding process
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) originally expressed interest in bidding for the games in November 2007.[8] In April 2008, after discussions with all three levels of government, the COC chose to support Toronto and the surrounding region as the Canadian candidate.[8] No other Canadian city was given a chance to bid in a domestic race, and thus Toronto was selected without a vote.[9] Toronto's interest in bidding came after failing to land the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics, which were held in Atlanta and Beijing, respectively, instead.
On February 23, 2009, Toronto City Council and Hamilton City Council approved the bid and confirmed their intentions to support the successful hosting of the event.[10] The official bid book document was submitted to the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) on May 27, 2009.[11]
PASO made an evaluation visit to Toronto between August 30 and 31, 2009. The team analysed the candidate city features and provided its feedback back to voting members of PASO. The evaluation committee was headed by Julio Maglione, a member of the IOC representing Uruguay and the head of Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), the international swimming federation, later renamed World Aquatics in 2023. After the visit, Maglione said, "Toronto has all the conditions to play host to the Pan American Games."[12]
Host city election
Toronto won the bidding process to host the Pan and Parapan American Games by a vote of the Pan American Sports Organization on November 6, 2009, at the PASO Session held in Guadalajara, Mexico. The result was announced by PASO President Mario Vázquez Raña.[13] Toronto faced two other finalists shortlisted Lima, Peru (which later won the rights to host the 2019 Pan American Games), and Bogotá, Colombia. Toronto earned 33 votes, while contesting candidate cities Lima and Bogotá received 11 and 7 votes, respectively.[14] Then-Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford and Canadian Minister of Sport Bal Gosal received the Pan American Sports Organization flag during the closing ceremony of the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara.[15]
| City | NOC | Round 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto |  Canada
|
33 |
| Lima |  Peru
|
11 |
| Bogotá |  Colombia
|
7 |
Development and preparation
Venues
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The 2015 Pan American Games used a mixture of new venues and existing and temporary facilities, some of them in well-known locations such as Exhibition Place. After the Games, some of the new facilities will be reused in their games time form, while others will be resized. A total of 30 competition venues across 14 municipalities were used for competition. Ten of these venues were newly built, while fifteen were renovated to stage the games.[16]
Toronto was one of the most populous cities in history to hold the Pan American Games. In July, Toronto has an average mean temperature of 22.3 °C (72.1 °F) and afternoon maximum average of 26.6 °C (79.9 °F) The average humidity is 74 percent, and the city (downtown area) averages five days with the temperature exceeding 30 °C (86 °F) and about 65 millimetres (2.6 in) of precipitation, mostly brief periods of showers and sometimes thunderstorms. Toronto's elevation is 112 m (367 ft 5+1⁄2 in) above sea level on average, though the city has many steep hills and deep ravines, the largest ravine system of any city in the world.[17]
In January 2012, the Toronto Organizing Committee for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games (TO2015) announced that sixty percent of the venues that had been proposed would be dropped in favour of a clustering system seen at other multi-sport events such as the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[18]
The opening and closing ceremonies were held at Rogers Centre (renamed "Pan Am Dome" due to sponsorship rules). Some of the competition venues in the Toronto area included BMO Field (renamed "Exhibition Stadium" due to sponsorship rules), the Pan Am/Parapan Am Fields, the Enercare Centre and the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, while the road cycling and marathon events include High Park west of Exhibition Place.[16][19] Competition venues outside Toronto city limits included Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Hershey Centre, Markham Pan Am Centre in Markham, the GM Centre in Oshawa, and the Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course in St. Catharines.[16]
Financing
The Toronto 2015 Organizing Committee and three jurisdictions of government were to spend about CA$672 million in upgrading and building new venues in the region.[20] An additional CA$760 million was to be spent in operating expenses such as venue management and marketing.[20] The Canadian federal government was expected to provide CA$500 million in funding for the games, while the City of Toronto's contribution was to be CA$86 million. Other municipalities which are hosting sporting events were to cover CA$205 million of the costs. All remaining costs were covered by the Government of Ontario. Revenue from the games were expected to cover ten percent of the cost to stage the games.[21] The organizing committee expected to generate CA$172 million in revenue. In addition, CA$709 million was to be spent on building an athletes' village in the West Don Lands area of Toronto. A further CA$239 million was budgeted on security, while transportation costs were around CA$90 million.[22] In 2014, the Ontario government provided an additional CA$74 million to expand the torch relay, provide additional live broadcasting of events and other features.[21] Therefore, the total spent was expected to be CA$2.57 billion, the highest-ever cost of a single Pan Am Games.[21]
In 2016, Ontario auditor-general Bonnie Lysyk issued a report suggesting that the games were over-budget by CA$342 million.[23] However, in 2019, the organizing committee found that the games were actually CA$38 million under budget, and left a legacy of $60 million to continue to maintain the buildings and facilities built for the games.[5]
Infrastructure
The Union Pearson Express, an airport rail link from Toronto Pearson International Airport to Union Station, started full-time service on June 6, 2015.[24] The games created a deadline for a project that had been stalled for years.[25] In addition, a new GO Transit train station in Hamilton at James Street North opened in time for the games.[26]
In October 2013, an expansion of the Pan Am site was announced to help complete 250 kilometres (160 mi) in gaps in Ontario's Trans Canada Trail and connect communities from Ottawa to Windsor and Fort Erie to Huntsville in time for the games. Connections to the Waterfront Trail were expected to be expanded and complete gaps in the trail. Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne announced "The province is investing more than CA$3.5 million in Pan Am/Parapan Am Trails to help create a continuous trail of more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi)."[27]
Athletes' Village
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The Athlete's village cost $735 million CAD and had the capacity to hold up to 7,200 athletes and officials.[28] After the games, the village was converted to 746 market-priced condos, 41 market-priced town homes, 250 affordable-rent apartments, 257 student dormitory units for George Brown College, office and retail units, and a YMCA recreation centre. The Athlete's Village was located in the West Don Lands along Front Street between Bayview Avenue and Cherry Street in Toronto. The development was certified LEED Gold.[29] Five satellite villages (all hotels and university residences) were also used to house athletes that were competing in venues far from the main village.[28]
Satellite villages
| Village | Location | Sports |
|---|---|---|
| Horseshoe Resort | Oro-Medonte | Cycling (mountain biking) |
| Pinestone Resort | Dysart et al (Haliburton) | Canoeing (slalom) |
| Nottawasaga Inn | New Tecumseth (Alliston) | Equestrian Shooting |
| McMaster University | Hamilton | Football |
| Brock University | St. Catharines | Canoeing (sprint) Rowing |
Volunteers
The organization committee expected 23,000 volunteers to be required for Pan Am and Parapan Am Games.[30] Over 63,000 applicants applied to become a volunteer.[31] A total of 16,146 volunteers participated as part of the Games.[32]
Ticketing
Ticket sales began on September 15, 2014 for high-demand events such as the ceremonies, via a lottery. Purchasers would find out if they received tickets in November 2014.[33] General sales of tickets began on December 8, 2014.[34] The Games had 1.4 million tickets[28] for sale, with over 75 percent of them priced under CA$45.[35] A special report from the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario concluded that "TO2015 eventually sold over 1.1 million of the 1.4 million available tickets—over 1 million for the Pan Am Games (85 percent of the total available) and 89,000 for the Parapan American Games (49 percent of the total available)."[36]
Countdown
The one-year countdown took place in Nathan Phillips Square in Downtown Toronto on July 10, 2014, in which a countdown clock was unveiled. A Cirque du Soleil performance was also held there.[37]
Medals
In October 2013, it was announced that the medals for the games would be produced and designed by the Royal Canadian Mint.[38] In September 2014, it was announced that the supplier of the raw minerals used in the medals (over 4,000 in total) would be Toronto-based Barrick Gold. All the materials used in the medals will come from the company's operations in the Pan American region.[39] The copper was mined at the company's Zaldivar mine in Chile, the silver at the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic and the gold was mined at the Hemlo mine in northwestern Ontario in the Unorganized Thunder Bay District near Thunder Bay.[40]
The designs of the medals were revealed on March 3, 2015 at a ceremony at the Royal Ontario Museum.[41] The design of the medals for the first time in an international able-bodied multi-sport event included braille. The medals are roughly 86.7 millimetres (3.41 in) in diameter and weigh about 350 grams (12 oz).[42] The artist of the medals is Christi Belcourt, a Métis visual artist and author. There are three shapes on the front of the medal representing North America, Central America and the Caribbean, and South America, the three regions that competed at the games, while also giving a feel and texture of the medal podium. The back of the medal represents the logo and motto of the games and the design also includes elements and techniques of mokume-gane that gives the medals the appearance of having wood grain.[43][44]
Torch relay
An application period for Canadians to carry the torch opened in October 2014 and continued until December. Anyone aged 13 years or older as of May 30, 2015 was eligible to become a torchbearer. Most of the torchbearers were selected by a random selection, while the others were selected by torch relay communities and games partners.[45]
The torch took a 41-day journey after being lit in May 2015 at the pyramids of Teotihuacan, Mexico State north of Mexico City. The torch was brought through a total of 130 communities, mostly in Ontario (with five outside the province: Richmond, Winnipeg, Calgary, Halifax and Montreal). The torch was carried by about 3,000 torchbearers and travelled approximately 20,000 kilometres (12,000 mi).[46] The relay began on May 30, 2015 in Toronto and finished on July 10, the date of the opening ceremony.[47]
The detailed torch relay route and celebration sites were announced on February 24, 2015.[46] The torch arrived in Toronto and then headed to Thunder Bay before visiting all other communities on the route. The relay also visited five National Historic Sites of Canada, six Canadian Forces bases and one provincial park. There were 180 celebrations across the torch relay route.[48][49]
The Games
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2015 Pan American Games took place on Friday, July 10, 2015, beginning at 8:00 p.m. EDT at Rogers Centre.[50] The opening ceremony was produced and directed by Cirque du Soleil.[51] The production became the largest event produced by the company.[52]
Governor General David Johnston officially opened the games.[53] Meanwhile, basketball player Steve Nash was the person who lit the cauldron. Nash ran outside the stadium at the end of the ceremony, where he ignited a bowl, which transferred the fire to the official cauldron. The ceremony concluded with a fireworks display shot off the CN Tower, and all the performers back on stage to celebrate.[54]
Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony took place on Sunday July 26, 2015, beginning at 8:00 p.m. EDT at Rogers Centre.[50] The closing ceremony was produced and directed jointly by B5C Productions, BaAM Productions and FiveCurrents,[55] in association with Live Nation.[56] It featured cultural presentations and the formal handover to Lima, host of the 2019 Pan American Games.[57] The ceremony featured a closing concert headlined by American rapper and music producer Kanye West, joined by Pitbull, and Canadian musician Serena Ryder.[58][59]
The choice of West as a headliner was criticized by Mayor John Tory and other residents, who argued that it should have been headlined by a Canadian musician.[58][59]
Participating nations
All 41 nations of PASO competed, one fewer than in the 2011 Pan American Games, as the Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee was dissolved in 2011.[60]
| Participating National Olympic Committees |
|---|
|
