The 2015 Pan American Games will officially open Friday night in Toronto when over 6,000 athletes from 41 countries march in the opening ceremonies at the Rogers Centre, the city’s largest sports venue.
The Games will run until July 26. Ten days later, 1,100 Parapan American Games come to town.
The Pan American Games are the world’s third largest international multi-sport Games. Only the Summer Olympics and the Asian Games are bigger.
Taken as a whole, the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Games are the biggest multi-sport event Canada has ever hosted–51 sports and disciplines, over 7,000 athletes..
Organizers are decidedly upbeat despite some media stories implying that the Games might be a bust.
The Globe and Mail reported on its front page Wednesday, for example, that almost half the tickets available for the 361 Pan Am events remain unsold.
Organizers countered that they are optimistic about meeting their goal of selling 1.4 million tickets to pay the $2.5-billion cost of the Games.
There have also been numerous reports that that motorists in the Greater Toronto Area are steamed about restrictions on 235 kilometres of GTA roads that are under temporary rules, leaving a bad vibe in the air.
Organizers say the same kind of gripes are flung about before plenty of sporting festivals, including the Olympics. They point to media carping in the lead-up to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, which turned out to be a smash.
While the opening ceremonies are set for Friday, some competitions are already under way.
On Tuesday, six water polo games were played. For the record, the Canadian women’s team tied Brazil 7-7 while the Canadian men lost 11-9, also against Brazil.
But the athletes are ready and history has shown that in previous games when the athletes do well–especially host-country athletes–criticism and pessimism are quickly forgotten.
Teddy Katz was a long-time CBC reporter before taking the job as director of media relations and chief spokesman for the Games.
He joined RCI by phone from Toronto on Wednesday.
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