The Pan American Games take place every four years and bring together several native athletes from the American continent. Sports included in the Olympic Program and also those not played in the Olympics are played, such as bowling, water skiing, racquetball and figure skating.
The 2023 edition of the Games takes place between October 20th and November 5th, hosted in the city of Santiago, Chile. The XIX Pan American Games will have the participation of around 41 nations, offering the largest number of Olympic places in history so far. In total, the Games intend to bring together around 7 thousand athletes.
This edition is extremely important for some sports, as there are modalities that compete for direct places in the Olympic Games. In total, there are 21 sports with possibilities for direct places for the Paris 2024 Olympics, such as boxing, artistic gymnastics, artistic swimming, surfing and tennis. In addition to these, there are still modalities that compete for points that can help in the ranking for classification, thus providing an indirect place. This is the case of swimming, athletics, triathlon and 3×3 basketball.
If you can't attend the Games in person, don't worry, there are several ways to follow all the events of the Pan American Games in Santiago, all online and free of charge. We've separated the main ways to access the content, so you don't miss any details.
The first edition of the Games
Some Latin American members of the International Olympic Committee had the idea of creating a competition between the Americas, in a kind of regional competition, strongly inspired by the Central American and Caribbean Games. The idea came after the 1932 Olympics, and resulted in the 1st Pan-American Sports Congress, in 1940. At the time of the Congress, it was established that the first edition of the Pan-American Games would take place two years later in Buenos Aires, the capital from Argentina. However, due to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and World War II, the games were not played.
Only after the 1948 Olympics, after the Second World War, did a new congress take place that confirmed the Argentine capital as the first host of the Games. The first edition took place in 1951, and saw the participation of 2513 athletes from 21 countries. They had tests in eighteen sports.
In 1955, the Pan American Sports Organization (ODEPA) was created, the body was responsible for holding the Pan American Games, following the guidelines and rules established in the Olympic Charter, which organizes the Olympic Games. With its headquarters in Mexico, it integrates 42 countries on the continent.
Santiago 2023 Pan American Games
In preparation for the Games, the city of Santiago carried out renovations to several structures that had already been used before, in 2014, at the South American Games. The capital receives most of the disputes, but some other modalities will also be played in other municipalities, such as Concepción, Valparaíso and Cerrillos.
Opening ceremony
The opening of the event takes place on October 20, 2023, at the Chile National Stadium. With musical attractions, cultural presentations, a parade of delegations and speeches by members of the International Olympic Committee and PanAm Sports, as well as the lighting of the Olympic torch. Among the musical attractions, performances by the bands Los Jaivas, Los Tres and Los Bunkers, singer Anita Tijoux, group Movimiento Original and singer Sebastián Yatra are expected.
Despite the official opening being on October 20th, some disputes have already started. The first boxing and baseball contests took place on October 18th and 19th. Also on the day of the opening ceremony, there will be three competitions. They are, Baseball, Boxing and Diving.
Closing ceremony
The closing date is scheduled to take place on November 5, 2023 at the Bicentenario Stadium in La Florida. This marks the first time in the history of the Pan American Games that the closing ceremony does not take place in the same place as the opening ceremony. This change in location happened because of a promotional agreement for the Parapan American Games.
To end the ceremony on a high note, the event will feature cultural presentations, a parade of delegations, awards, thank you speeches from local authorities, the International Olympic Committee and PanAm Sports, passing of the flag to the representative of the next host city, in this case, Barranquilla. In addition, there will also be presentations honoring Colombian culture and the Pan-American torch will be extinguished.
Pan American Games mascot
The mascot chosen for the Pan American Games was Fiu, a bird with seven colors, inspired by the species Tachuris rubigastra, popularly known as Papa-piri, a bird common in the marshes of Chile. The species can be found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Peru.
The choice was made via internet voting, which mobilized 46 thousand participants. The public was very involved in choosing the new mascot, which represents diversity, strength, perseverance, respect, determination, honesty, companionship and passion.
The announcement of the choice of the mascot took place in 2021, two years before the competition. Which probably fueled the population's excitement and expectations about the Games.
Previous edition
The previous edition of the Games took place in 2019 between July 26th and August 11th in the city of Lima, Peru. On this occasion, more than 6 thousand athletes from 41 countries were present to compete. It was the first time that the city of Lima hosted an edition of the Pan American Games, which were also held in the districts of Callao, Huacho, Ica, Punta Negra, Cañete and Lunahuaná.
The medals table had the United States, Brazil and Mexico as the top 3 with the highest number of medals.
The United States, first placed overall, had a total of 293 medals. Of these, 122 were gold, 87 silver and 84 bronze. Brazil came in second place, with 54 gold medals and a total of 169 podiums. Third place went to Mexico, which won 54 gold medals, achieving a total of 138 medals.
How to watch?
At the official site you will find all the information such as calendar, results, complete coverage of the games. Furthermore, on the YouTube channel, you will find the best moments of the day, with clips and various content.
In Brazil, the Games will not be broadcast on open or closed TV channels, due to broadcasting rights. This way, there are two ways to watch the games for free via streaming services, all without any charge.
O Brazilian Olympic Channel is broadcasting the games live and free of charge. The Brazilian Olympic Committee's streaming channel provides the complete schedule, with times, modalities and available channels. It is possible to stay up to date and follow the entire broadcast of the Games. The channel is already known for broadcasting various events, championships and disputes.
The difference is that previous editions are also available on the website, so you can review them at any time. Or even if you weren't able to watch the live broadcast, you can watch it at another time, whenever you think is better.
The channel CazéTV is also broadcasting the Games live. There will be 450 hours of live programming, exclusively dedicated to the Games. Furthermore, the channel intends to provide complete and very comprehensive coverage. Events such as the men's and women's football World Cups and the Club World Cup have already been broadcast on the channel.
Additionally, you can follow official social networks to have access to exclusive content, behind-the-scenes and key information about the games.
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The 2023 Pan American Games will take place in the city of Santiago, Chile, bringing together around 7 thousand athletes from different sports. This edition is unmissable! A New Post I brought all the information so you can follow the games and stay up to date with everything.
It's important to remember that the availability of free streams may vary depending on your location and streaming rights restrictions. Therefore, it is important that you check whether the Games are being broadcast live in your region or whether the event is being covered. It's a good idea to check local channels and resources in your country to find live streaming options or highlights from the Pan American Games.
