Sports
2011 Pan American Games begin next week in Mexico
Oct 5, 2011 - 11:55:04 AM

The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games or the 16th Pan American Games, will be a major international multi-sport event that will be held from October 14–30, 2011 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, with some events held in nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, Puerto Vallarta, Lagos de Moreno and Tapalpa. It will be the largest multi-sport event of the year,[1] with approximately 6,000 athletes from 42 nations expected to participate in 36 sports. Both the Pan American and Parapan American Games are being organized by the Guadalajara 2011 Organizing Committee (COPAG). The 2011 Pan American Games will become the third Pan American Games hosted by Mexico (the first country to do so) and the first held in the state of Jalisco. Previously, Mexico hosted the 1955 Pan American Games and the 1975 Pan American Games, both in Mexico City. The 2011 Parapan American Games will be held 20 days after the Pan American Games have ended.

Following PASO tradition, Jalisco governor Emilio González Márquez and then Guadalajara mayor Alfonso Petersen Farah received the Pan American Sports Organization flag during the closing ceremony of the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

PASO selected the city unanimously as the host for 16th Pan American Games on Friday, June 2, 2006 at its 44th general assembly held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Guadalajara was the only city to officially bid for the 2011 Pan American Games. This may have been in part due to no announced and or open candidature period for the event. Guadalajara initially bid for the 2003 Pan American Games which were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. San Antonio, United States which bid for the 2007 Games declined to bid for these games.

Official Website for the Pan American Games in Mexico

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