TORONTO, (Reuters) – Toronto greeted the opening of the 2015 Pan Am Games with a mix of annoyance and indifference yesterday as concern about traffic, ticket sales and money spent weighed on a city that would have rather been hosting the Olympics.
The July 10-26 Pan Ams will be the largest multi-sport event held in Canada as nearly 7,000 athletes from across South and Central America, the Caribbean and North America compete in 36 sports.
But the Pan Ams lack the prestige of a Summer Olympics, which Toronto unsuccessfully bid for in 1996 and 2008, and the response of the locals in Canada’s largest city shows it.
The July 10-26 Pan Ams will be the largest multi-sport event held in Canada as nearly 7,000 athletes from across South and Central America, the Caribbean and North America compete in 36 sports.
But the Pan Ams lack the prestige of a Summer Olympics, which Toronto unsuccessfully bid for in 1996 and 2008, and the response of the locals in Canada’s largest city shows it.