There’s nothing like a big sports event to give a city a face-lift. This year, it’s Toronto’s turn. Seeing a city when it has been spruced up for a big international event is the best time to go. You see it at its finest.
by paul bica Caption:The waterfront at night, Toronto
Although it’s not quite the Olympics, this summer sees another great multi-sport event taking place – the 2015 Pan American Games. This will be the 17th Pan American games, and will attract more than 6,000 athletes from 41 nations. The inaugural Pan Am Games took place in Buenos Aires in 1951, and they’ve been going strong ever since, taking place every four years.
The 2015 Pan Am Games will be hosted by Toronto, making it the third time that the games have been hosted in Canada. Winnipeg, Manitoba, was the venue for both the 1967 and the 1999 Pan American Games. From 10-26 July, the entire focus of the greater Toronto area will be on the Games.
As well as being a first-time event for Toronto, this will be the first year that the Pan American Games will be completely eco-friendly, as the event will be fully carbon neutral. It will also be the biggest multi-sport event to be held in Canada, measured by the number of athletes. To give you an idea, the number of athletes at the Pan Am Games this year will be double the number who took part in the 2010 Winter Olympics which was hosted by Vancouver.
So what kinds of events are included in the Pan Am Games? There are 36 different sports, and these range from traditional sports, such as track and field, wrestling and swimming, as well as newer disciplines, such as water-skiing and BMX biking. There will also be golf, sailing and equestrian events. While not all the biggest names in sport will be making an appearance at the Games (Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, for example), there will still be plenty of top pro athletes taking part. And anyone watching the events either in person or on TV will be able to make the viewing even more exciting by betting on the teams or players they think have the best chance of winning.
Toronto is the largest city to have hosted the event and the cost for the taxpayer will be around $2.5billion, approximately $1 billion more than anticipated when hosting rights were awarded. A lot of the money has gone into upgrading existing sports facilities, such as BMO Field, and building both temporary and permanent facilities for the Games.
If you’re planning on attending the Games in person, don’t forget to check out the list of 30 banned items and actions recently issued by the organisers. That way, you’ll avoid any disappointment at the gates.
What else should I see?
Of course, there are plenty of different things to see and do in Toronto. Here are just a few suggestions of things you really should do while visiting the area.
- Be sure to take a trip up the CN Tower. Its 553.33m height once made it the tallest tower in the world, but even though it’s now been dwarfed by other taller towers in other parts of the world, it’s still impressive. The LookOut level is at 346m, and the Glass Floor and Sky Terrace (outdoor) are at 342m. For the highest accessible point, head to the SkyPod – and you’ll be 447m above the city for some incredible views.
by Bobolink Caption: Toronto’s CN Tower
- Although technically not in Toronto, no trip to the city would be complete without heading out to Niagara Falls. It’s not every day that you get to watch 750,000 gallons of water per second go over a waterfall. If you want to get a sense of the power of the water within the falls, take the Journey Behind the Falls, where you take an elevator ride 38m down through solid rock so that you can stand next to the tumbling curtain of water.
- For an alternative city tour, join Toronto’s Haunted Walk, where you’ll discover the city’s nooks and hidden places while hearing some stories that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
Whatever you plan to see in Toronto, summer 2015 is a great time to go!