Lima will host the Pan American Games for the second time in a decade after seeing off competition from Asunción to land the 2027 edition of the multi-sport event that had been removed from Barranquilla, Colombia.
Barranquilla was awarded the Games back in August 2021, but in January was stripped of the hosting rights following what Panam Sports, the governing body which organises the event, said were “several breaches” of the host city contract.
The Peruvian capital yesterday (Tuesday) secured 28 of the 52 votes cast by member countries of Panam Sports during an extraordinary general assembly meeting. Lima and Asunción gave a 40-minute presentation to the assembly led by the presidents of the Olympic Committees of Peru and Paraguay, Renzo Manyari and Camilo Perez, respectively.
Their presentations featured videos and messages from top government leaders before they submitted to questions from the participating member countries. Lima held the 2019 Pan American Games, the first time it had done so, while Paraguay’s capital has yet to secure the event.
The Peruvian Olympic Committee is seeking to use the 2027 Pan American Games to position itself for a bid for the Summer Youth Olympic Games. The Peruvian bid for the 2027 Games has reportedly assigned $369m (£288.5m/€337.8m) to improve facilities that were put in place for 2019, along with making other infrastructure upgrades.
Panam Sports president, Neven Ilic, said: “I want to congratulate Lima, all of Peru and the president of the Peruvian Olympic Committee, Renzo Manyari, for this tremendous achievement.
“A few years ago, they shook an entire continent with excitement and today, with more experience and spectacular infrastructure, they want to repeat or improve the success achieved in 2019.
“I also take this opportunity to congratulate Paraguay and its NOC (National Olympic Committee) president Camilo Perez. They are doing a great job with Paraguayan sport and their athletes, so my call is for them to continue growing and developing.
“They have a tremendous challenge ahead of them with the Junior Pan American Games in 2025, where I am sure they will be a great host for the entire continent.”
Manyari added: “We are happy for this triumph. We will work to make everyone’s experience the best they have ever had, and they have the absolute devotion of more than 33 million Peruvians.”
The Chilean capital, Santiago, hosted the most recent edition of the Pan American Games, from October 20 to November 5 last year.
