(ATR) More than 20 members of the Pan American Sports Organization will converge upon Lima, Peru on Oct. 30 to meet with leaders of the Lima 2019 Organizing Committee (COPAL).
The PASO leaders will check on improvements in the Pan American Games host city since their last visit in February 2016. The inspection visit will be the first time many of the PASO members meet with newly appointed president of COPAL Carlos Neuhaus.
Neuhaus was appointed by the Peruvian government after Luis Salazar stepped down citing a lack of support in Peru’s Congress.
"This weekend PASO visits and we will explain all the progress of the organization," COPAL president Carlos Neuhaus told AFP.
During the February visit, PASO told the Pan Am organizers to have an added emphasis of creating a legacy for the city of Lima with their planned projects for the Games. Neuhaus says COPAL has followed all of PASO’s recommendations since the February inspection.
Two of the venues that are significant to the legacy of the Pan Ams in Peru are the Sports Center and the Pan American Village. The latter will house the athletes during the games and become residential property once the event has left Lima. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2017.
"We are already working on them but it is time-consuming to do soil studies and we are reviewing them well because people will need to live there after the event," Neuhaus said.
PASO leaders will also have their first opportunity to weigh in on the new Lima 2019 Parapan American Games logo that was released by COPAL on Oct. 25. International Paralympic Committee chief executive officer Xavier Gonzalez attended the logo presentation and says the emblem complements the Pan American design.
The colorful logo demonstrates three athletes raising their hands to celebrate on the Flower of Amancaes, symbolizing their determination, joy of competing and the union among them all on the Parapan American podium, according to the IPC.
"We came to work together so that Lima 2019 is a success," said Gonzalez. "It is our third visit and we highlight the presence of the media, showing the strong commitment the country has with the Games."
The Lima 2019 Parapan Ams will be held from Aug. 21 to Sep. 1 and will feature a record 1,850 athletes who will compete in 17 sports, overtaking Toronto 2015 as the biggest Parapan Ams ever.
The Pan American Games will begin nearly a month before the Parapan Ams on July 26 and conclude on Aug. 11.
Written by Kevin Nutley
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