"We are ready," says Peterson
Toronto 2015 bid unveils final presentation plans, new song and delegation at Toronto Board of Trade
Toronto 2015 bid representatives today announced that they are ready for the final presentation to the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) in Guadalajara, Mexico next week — and to bring the 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games back to Toronto.
“We are ready,” said Toronto 2015 Bid Chair, the Hon. David Peterson. “We have put together an excellent presentation and a terrific delegation, but won’t stop working until the final decision is announced.”
Peterson believes the team is ready for the November 6 presentation and vote with a bid that will appeal to the full PASO membership. The bid has evolved since its early days thanks to months of hard work, a successful evaluation visit by PASO in late August, and the time bid representatives have taken to meet with and listen to PASO voters at a number of key meetings and events.
The Toronto 2015 delegation will be led by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, who will be joined by senior colleagues from the federal and provincial government and the City of Toronto, as well as senior Canadian Olympic Committee officials and key business leaders.
Some well known Canadian athletes will also play a key role in the Toronto 2015 delegation, including Olympic silver medalist (and five-time Olympian) Charmaine Crooks, three-time Olympic medalist Curt Harnett, multiple Pan Am and Commonwealth Games medalist, Alexandra Orlando, and three-time Paralympic medallist and President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, Carla Qualtrough.
Alexandra Orlando and Curt Harnett joined Peterson for the announcement at the Toronto Board of Trade earlier today.
“Major international sporting events like the Pan Am Games can provide a tremendous boost to the local economy through investment in new infrastructure, and a significant increase in tourism,” said Carol Wilding, President and CEO of the Toronto Board of Trade. “The Pan Am Games can also serve to showcase the entire Toronto region to an international audience. These are two of the reasons the Board of Trade is happy to support this bid.”
A new Canadian Tenors song, created and composed by the Tenors to provide a unique and powerful anthem for the bid, was also released. The video for the song, titled Your Moment is Here, can be watched at.
The delegation will attend the PASO annual General Assembly November 4-6. The final presentations by each of the three bid cities (Bogota, Colombia, Lima, Peru and Toronto) will be made on Friday, November 6, and will be one hour-long, followed by up to 20 minutes of questions and answers. The decision is expected to be announced between 5:00 and 6:00 pm EST.
The Pan Am Games are a major international multi-sport event, held every four years for athletes of the 42 PASO member nations. The Pan American Games consists of all Summer Olympic sports, plus other non-Olympic events, and serve as an Olympic-qualifier for a number of participating sports. The last edition of the games was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in July 2007 and the next is scheduled to take place in Guadalajara, Mexico in October 2011.
