Pan Am Games 2019

CELEBRATING: Members of the Caricom delegation are pictured with members of the Peru delegation at the announcement in Toronto last Friday that Lima was successful in its bid to host the next Pan Am Games in 2019. The announcement was made to much fanfare at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto, where delegates from across the Americas and the Caribbean gathered to see who would be successful in its bid to host the prestigious games, the 2015 edition of which will be held in Toronto. Caribbean people are playing a major role in the Toronto Games, among them former Festival Management  Committee (FMC) chair Joe Halstead, who holds an executive position with the Pan Am Games (Toronto) and brought greetings on behalf of the City of Toronto. Lima Peru edged out Santiago Chile, La Punta Argentina and Cuidad Bolivar Venezuela for the 2019 Games, which it has never hosted before. The next five years are turning out to be big for sports in South America, as Brazil will host the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Summer Games and now Peru will host the 2019 Pan Am Games.
GERALD PAUL PHOTO