Peru pitches bid for Vincentian support for Pan Am Games 2019

Peru pitched their bid for the St Vincent and the Grenadines National Olympic Committee vote for its city Lima, as they seek to outdo the other three contenders to host the 2019 Pan American Games.{{more}}

Leading the bid was the Peru National Olympic Committee (CONP) president Jose Quiñones Gonzales, who laid out the country’s plans at the Xpert Computer Centre in Kingstown, last Thursday afternoon.

In a philosophical presentation, Gonzales proffered that his coastal city wedges their bid on the pillars of “Expansion, Experience and Energy”.

Gonzales said that they need the games more than the other cities which are in the bidding process, as they have never hosted the Pan Am Games.

Apart from Lima, the others vying to host the games are Santiago, Chile, La Punta, Argentina and Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela.

Gonzales spoke of the importance of the legacy of the games to his country.

“We want to create a new vision for the youths of Peru,” he stated.

The CONP president said Peru earned the right to host the Pan Am Games in 2019 because it had already hosted three world championships, two Olympic qualifying events and many regional and sub-continental games.

In all, Gonzales said his country has hosted 33 major sporting events in recent years.

He noted that having lost the chance to host the 2015 Games, which were awarded to Canada, his country has pulled out all of the stops and is ready for 2019.

Referring to his country as “middle sized”, Gonzales, however, said that his country will be offering a unique pre-event offer for the teams participating in the games.

As part of the bid, Peru is offering free accommodation for athletes for up to 30 days before the start of the Games, to have them acclimatised.

Gonzales said the Games will be held in July, as opposed to the customary March and October months.

In fact, Gonzales disclosed that the opening ceremony is set for July 26.

Also on the table is a $100,000 scholarship offer which St Vincent and the Grenadines is in line to take up.

Peru plans to expend $760,000,000 on the Games, with the largest chunk allocated to the venues.

And, as a promise, the venues are proposed to be complete by 2016, so that their capabilities can be tested.

Gonzales reiterated to those who were present that Lima, Peru was the “first choice”.

The rest now is left to the members of the National Olympic Committee of St Vincent and the Grenadines who will decide which city they will support.

The final decision on which country would host the 2019 Games will be made on October 11, at the Pan American Sports Organisation General Assembly, to be held in Toronto, Canada. (RT)