Thanks To The Volunteers

As a former Eastern-er it’s seldom that we (I) congratulate Toronto for doing a great job, regardless of what it might be, but they stepped up for this one!

Toronto played host to the largest-ever international multi-sport Games in Canada’s history but the real impact of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games will last for decades.

The 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games Organizing Committee estimates that there was (somewhere) between ticketed events, municipal activations and free PANAMANIA festivities, there were around two million visits to the Games.

Showing their Pride to the World – Team Canada set a national record for Gold medals ever won at a Pan Am Games, having won 78 Gold, 69 Silver and 70 Bronze for a total of 217, second behind the US (103 Gold, 81 Silver, 81 Bronze) with 265

As Canadians we should be extremely proud of Toronto and area for hosting the Pan Am Games and thank the numerous volunteers who made this happen!!

Pan Pm Firsts

• The highest level of participation ever by female athletes at more than 45 per cent.
• The debut of women’s baseball, women’s canoe sprint, women’s rugby sevens, canoe/kayak – slalom and golf on the sport competition program, and the return of men’s softball.
• Athletes smashed more than 80 Pan Am records.
• Brazilian swimmer Thiago Pereira raised the bar, becoming the winningest athlete in Pan Am Games history (he has earned 23 in total, but won five in Toronto).
• Saint Lucia won its first-ever Pan Am gold medal, which was in track and field.
• Canada’s women’s basketball team took home its first ever gold medal.

Saäd Rafi, Chief Executive Officer for the games told the media “I’ve always known the TORONTO 2015 Games would be phenomenal and they have far exceeded even my wildest expectations and the outcome has been just amazing.”

He continued “The athletes thrilled us, Canadians absolutely embraced their home Games, and our communities were so welcoming to the athletes and visitors. Every person not just in this region, but in this country, should be proud of what we just achieved, together.”

This being a once-in-a-lifetime experience for hundreds of Athletes and roughly about 120 sold-out Pan Am events, the full stands, cheering crowds and the volunteers that made the Games happen for CANADA!!

By closing the games will have sold 1,050,000 of the 1.3 million tickets available for purchase to the Pan Am Games, which is the equivalent of a Toronto Maple Leaf sellout for home game – more than 55 times!!

Two-hundred thousand tickets are available for purchase to the Parapan Am Games.

Other Games Highlights

• In the digital space, TORONTO2015.org received more than one million visitors and eight million page views every day.
• On Twitter, there were 220 million average daily impressions of the TO2015 hashtags (#), and Games-related Facebook posts reached more than 5.5 million people.
• The Games also saw one of the largest peacetime volunteer recruitments in Canadian history.
• Clad in their bright orange shirts, designed and manufactured by Joe Fresh, as part of Loblaw’s Premier Partnership with the Games, more than 23,000 friendly faces supported the Games at sport venues, the CIBC Pan Am/Parapan Am Athletes’ Village, cultural events, official functions, Opening and Closing Ceremonies and other places across the Games footprint.
• PANAMANIA, presented by CIBC, was a fan favourite. The 35-day arts and culture festival continues through August 15, with great acts including Chromeo,
• The Roots and Janelle Monae at PANAMANIA Live @ Nathan Phillips Square from August 7 to 12 plus additional events across the city.
• TORONTO 2015 merchandise can be seen everywhere thanks to strong sales throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
• Including the Superstore at Nathan Phillips Square, which will stay open through the Parapan Am Games.
• PACHI was the star of the show with more than 100,000 PACHI plush products sold!