The 2019 Pan American Games (), officially the XVIII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Lima 2019, were a
multi-sport event
A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of intern ...
governed by the
Panam Sports Organization held in
Lima
Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
,
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
from July 26 to August 11, 2019, with preliminary rounds in certain events having begun on July 24, 2019. These were the first
Pan American Games
The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...
to be held in Peru, and the seventh to be held in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
.
The opening ceremony took place on July 26 at the
National Stadium of Peru, and the Games were declared open by former Peruvian President
Martín Vizcarra
Martín Alberto Vizcarra Cornejo (; born 22 March 1963) is a Peruvian engineer and politician who served as President of Peru from 2018 to 2020. Vizcarra Martín Vizcarra's governorship of Moquegua, previously served as List of regional governor ...
. These
Pan American Games
The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...
were held at venues in and around Lima, and are the largest sporting event ever hosted by the country.
Bidding process

A total of four bids were submitted for the 2019 Pan American Games, and they were officially announced on February 1, 2013. These were Lima in Peru,
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
,
Ciudad Bolívar
Ciudad Bolívar (; Spanish for "Bolivar City"), formerly known as Angostura and St. Thomas de Guyana, is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolívar, Venezuela, Bolívar State. It lies at the spot where the Orinoco River narrows to about ...
in
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
and
La Punta in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
. Lima bid for the games for the second consecutive time after losing to
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
for the 2015 edition of the games. Santiago had won the rights to stage the
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
and
1987 Pan American Games
The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas ...
but withdrew both times before hosting. The other two cities bid for the games for the first time. Lima was elected as the host city on October 11, 2013, where PASO members gathered in
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
to elect the host city.
The city was considered the favourite to win the rights to host throughout the contest.
[
]
Development and preparation
Venues
The events were held in various Lima districts and neighboring cities, with most of them concentrated in the clusters of VIDENA (a complex in the San Luis District), Pan American Park (Villa María del Triunfo
Villa María del Triunfo is a district of the Lima Province in Peru. It is located in the Cono Sur area of the city of Lima.
It was officially established as a district on December 28, 1961. The current mayor (''alcalde'') of Villa María del Tr ...
), the Sports Village of Callao
Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...
, and a sports complex in Costa Verde.
Financing
The total budget is estimated at US$1.2 billion, with $470 million in sports infrastructure, $180 million building the Pan American Village, $430 million spent in organization, and $106 million for other expenses.
Athletes' Village
9,500 athletes and team officials were accommodated in a complex with 1,700 units in Villa El Salvador
Villa El Salvador is an urban, largely residential coastal district on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. It borders the district of Chorrillos on the east; the Pacific Ocean on the southwest; Lurín on the southeast; Villa María del Triunfo on the ...
.
Torch relay
The torch was sent from Mexico to Lima by sailboat, and the torch relay started in Machu Picchu. The torch had toured through 23 cities over 23 days and covered 5,500 kilometers en route to the Peru National Stadium in Lima on July 26, 2019, for the opening ceremony. The cities include Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo, Cusco
Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department.
The city was the cap ...
, Puno, Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...
, Arequipa
Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...
, Camaná, Nazca, Ica, Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Cerro de Pasco, Huánuco
Huánuco (; ) is a city in central Peru. It had a population of 196,627 as of 2017 and in 2015 it had a population of 175,068. It is the capital of the Huánuco Region and the Huánuco District. It is the seat of the diocese of Huánuco. The met ...
, Tocache, Tarapoto, Bagua Grande, Piura, Cajamarca, Trujillo and Huaraz.
The Games
Ceremonies
The opening ceremony of the games took place on July 26, 2019, and the closing ceremony took place on August 11, 2019.
Participating National Olympic Committees
All 41 nations who are members of the Pan American Sports Organization
Panam Sports, officially the Pan American Sports Organization (), is an international organization which represents the current 41 National Olympic Committees of the American continents.
It is affiliated with the International Olympic Committee ...
competed at the event. The numbers in parentheses represents the number of athletes a country qualified.
Number of athletes by National Olympic Committee
Sports
419 events in 38 sports were contested in Lima, the largest number of medal events ever held at a single edition of the Pan American Games until that date. Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding is the practice of Resistance training, progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's skeletal muscle, muscles via muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to a ...
and surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...
were contested at the Pan-Am Games for the first time in 2019, basque pelota
Basque pelota (Basque: '' pilota'', Spanish: '' pelota vasca'', French: '' pelote basque'') is the name for a variety of court sports played with a ball using one's hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket, against a wall (''frontis or fronto ...
was reinstated after being absent from the 2015 Games, and women's baseball was dropped after debuting in 2015.[
Almost all of the new events being contested at the ]2020 Summer Olympics
The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
were already on the Pan-Am Games' program. Sport climbing
Sport climbing (or bolted climbing) is a type of free climbing in the sport of rock climbing where the Lead climbing, lead climber clips their climbing rope, rope — via a quickdraw — into pre-drilled in-situ bolt (climbing), bolts for their ...
was excluded because it did not have the required number of national federations in the Americas to be eligible for inclusion. Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...
was pulled from the program in May 2019; Panam Sports cited that World Skate
World Skate is the only governing body in the world for all sports performed on skating wheels. The organisation is the successor of the Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports (FIRS) founded on 21 April 1924.
Disciplines
World Skate ser ...
had diminished the quality of the event by having not made the Games be a qualifier for the Olympics, and its partner Street League Skateboarding (SLS) having scheduled a World Tour event in Los Angeles that conflicted with the Games.
The new disciplines that were scheduled to be introduced for the 2020 Summer Olympics were also added, including the 4 × 100m mixed medley relay, men's 800m and women's 1,500m in swimming, 3-on-3 basketball, BMX freestyle park, two new women's boxing events, Madison track cycling, the transfer of three men's events to mixed team events in shooting, table tennis mixed doubles, archery mixed team, and triathlon mixed relay. There was a reduction of one men's weightlifting event, and all canoe events being gender-neutral (removing a men's event from each discipline). 19 extra events were also added, including the 1m springboard in diving,[ as well three events in compound archery, ]modern pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is an Summer Olympics, Olympic multisport that consists of five events: fencing (one-touch épée followed by direct elimination), freestyle swimming, obstacle course racing, Laser pistol (sport), laser pistol shooting, and ...
relays (with mixed, men's, and women's events),[ 49er, Nacra 17 and kiteboarding (the latter two replacing the Hobie 16 and J/24) events in sailing, extreme canoe slalom, mixed doubles squash, women's wakeboard, ]poomsae
The Korean terms hyeong, pumse, poomsae and teul (meaning "form" or "pattern") are all used to refer to martial arts forms that are typically used in Korean martial arts such as Taekwondo and Tang Soo Do.
* Hyeong (형) is often romanized as '' ...
events in taekwondo, women's 50 km race walking, and men's and woman's doubles events in table tennis.[
''Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events to be contested in each sport/discipline.''
* Aquatics
**
**
**
**
**
*
*
*
*Baseball
**
**
*
*
*
*
*
*
** ]Canoe sprint
Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...
(12)
** Canoe slalom
Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater slalom) is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a Spraydeck, decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on Whitewater, river rapids in the fastest time pos ...
(6)
*
** BMX
BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation.
History
BMX began during the ea ...
(4)
** Mountain biking
Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...
(2)
** Road
A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved.
Th ...
(4)
** Track (12)
*
** Dressage
Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...
(2)
** Eventing
Eventing (also known as three-day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where the same horse and rider combination compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...
(2)
** Jumping
Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping and ...
(2)
*
*
*
*
*
** Artistic gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), ...
(14)
** Rhythmic gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop, ball (rhythmic gymnastics), ball, Clubs (rhythmic gymnastics), clubs, ribbon (rhythmic gymnastics), ...
(8)
** Trampoline
A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame often using many coiled spring (device), springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes.
The fabric that use ...
(2)
*
*
*
*
*
*
** Figure Skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...
(2)
** Speed Skating
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...
(6)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
**
**
*
*
*
** Freestyle (12)
** Greco-Roman
The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...
(6)
Calendar
The calendar was unveiled on April 18, 2019, 100 days ahead to the start of the competition.
Medal table
;Key
Medals used in the games
Media
Broadcasting
Mediapro
Mediaproducción, S.L.U., better known as Mediapro, is a multimedia communications group in Spain founded in April 1994 in Barcelona. The company is well involved in movie and television production.
The company holds branch offices in Madrid, S ...
served as host broadcaster. The Lima Convention Centre hosted the International Broadcast Centre (IBC). Panam Sports also launched the ''Panam Sports Channel'' on its website, which featured supplemental video content from the Games hosted by local personality Alexandra Hörler.
Marketing
Logo
The official logo of the 2019 Pan American Games is inspired by the amancay, an indigenous flower that flourishes from June 24 through September 30. The flower and its pistils represent three athletes with open arms and the three Americas, with the identity of Lima. It was designed by Peruvian graphic designers Juan Diego Sanz and Jorge Luis Zárate.
Mascot
In June 2017, after over a thousand submissions, the organising committee revealed the final three in the running to be the mascot of the games. The final three designs were: ''Milco'', which was influenced by Cuchimilco sculptures (pre-Hispanic figures of Chancay culture developed in Lima around 1200–1470 A.D.); a flower named ''Amantis''; and ''Wayqi'', a leaf-toed gecko. In July 2017, it was announced ''Milco'' was the winner of the contest, receiving 45% of the vote. There was approximately 44,154 votes cast in the contest, the most ever for a mascot competition for the Pan American Games. The winning designer of the competition was awarded 15,000 Peruvian sol
The sol (; plural: soles; currency sign: S/) is the currency of Peru; it is subdivided into 100 ''céntimos'' ("cents"). The ISO 4217 currency code is PEN.
The sol replaced the Peruvian inti in 1991 and the name is a return to that of Peru's h ...
es (or approximately US$4,600). Milco's body is orange and the colour of his shorts is red, while his T-shirt is white, representing the colors of the Peruvian flag
The Flag of Peru (), often referred to as The Bicolour (), was adopted by the government of Peru in 1825, and modified in 1950. According to the article 49 of the Constitution of Peru, it is a vertical triband (flag), triband with red outer band ...
. Milco was designed by 24-year-old Andrea Norka Medrano Moy.[
]
See also
* 2019 Parapan American Games
* 2027 Pan American Games - also scheduled for Lima
References
External links
* ()
Schedule and results
{{Pan American Games
2019 Pan American Games
Pan American Games
Pan American Games
The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...
2019 in North American sport
2019 in South American sport
2019 in Peruvian sport
2010s in Lima
Pan American Games
The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...
Pan American Games
The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...
Sports competitions in Lima
Multi-sport events in Peru
International sports competitions hosted by Peru