What are the Pan American Games?
The Pan American Games are the continental multi-sport games of the Americas: the highest-level games event of the Western Hemisphere, bringing together the national teams of all 41 National Olympic Committees of North, Central and South America and the Caribbean every four years.[1] The program spans several dozen sports, largely mirroring the Olympic program.[1]
Who organizes the Pan American Games?
The Games are owned by Panam Sports (the Pan American Sports Organization), the continental association of the 41 NOCs of the Americas, and staged with a host city organizing committee. Sport-by-sport technical control belongs to the international and continental federations.[1] [2]
When and where are they held?
Every four years, in the year before the Summer Olympic Games, in a host city elected by Panam Sports.[1]
| Season | Pool / Format | Host cities |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | XX Games | Lima (PER) — upcoming, 23 Jul–8 Aug |
| 2023 | XIX Games | Santiago (CHI) |
| 2019 | XVIII Games | Lima (PER) |
| 2015 | XVII Games | Toronto (CAN) |
| 2011 | XVI Games | Guadalajara (MEX) |
| 2007 | XV Games | Rio de Janeiro (BRA) |
| 2003 | XIV Games | Santo Domingo (DOM) |
| 1999 | XIII Games | Winnipeg (CAN) |
| 1995 | XII Games | Mar del Plata (ARG) |
| 1991 | XI Games | Havana (CUB) |
Barranquilla (COL) was originally awarded 2027 but stripped of hosting rights in January 2024 over unmet financial guarantees; Lima won the replacement vote 28–24 over Asunción.[2] [3]
Since when do they exist?
The first Pan American Games were held in Buenos Aires in 1951 and the event has run on its four-year cycle ever since; a Parapan American Games follows in each host city.[1] [4]
How do athletes qualify?
Entry runs through the National Olympic Committees: each sport has a continental qualification system — continental championships, rankings or quotas agreed with the federations — and NOCs select and enter their national teams within those quotas.[1] [4] In many sports, Pan American Games results also carry Olympic qualification value, as direct berths or ranking points toward the following year's Games.[1]
Why do the Pan American Games matter?
A Pan American medal is a continental honor — the highest games-level achievement in the Americas outside the Olympics — and for several sports the Games double as an Olympic qualifier.[1] Some 7,000 athletes competed at Santiago 2023, selected by their NOCs through continental qualification, making a Pan Am team place itself a mark of national-team elite status.[2] [4]
Who competes?
National teams of all 41 NOCs of the Americas — from the United States, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Cuba, historically the leading medal nations, to single-sport delegations from the smallest Caribbean committees.[1]
References
- Panam Sports — official site. Accessed August 2026.
- Panam Sports — Lima will host the 2027 Pan American Games. Accessed August 2026.
- CBC — Peru wins vote against Paraguay to host 2027 Pan Am Games. Accessed August 2026.
- Team Canada — Lima 2027. Accessed August 2026.