The city halls of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói made official this Tuesday (3) to the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee) their intention to host the 2031 Pan-American Games. The cities entered the dispute with São Paulo, which had already expressed last year interested in hosting the event.
Brazil can only have one representative in the dispute with the organizer Panam Sports, which will be defined by the COB in January. The host city for the event will be chosen in August next year. Asunción (Paraguay) and Mexican leaders have already expressed interest in running, but the candidacies have not yet been made official.
The mayors of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes (PSD), and Niterói, Rodrigo Neves (PDT), presented the letter of intent to the COB president, Paulo Wanderley, and highlighted Rio de Janeiro’s experience in holding major events.
“We start with a very big advantage due to this existing infrastructure, both in Rio and Niterói. The benefits of not having to build new structures, construction of new equipment, gives us a very big comparative advantage. Apart from the experience in holding major events”, said Paes.
Rio de Janeiro hosted the 2007 Pan, an event praised by the directors of Odepa (Organização Desportiva Panamericana), the former name of Panam Sports.
The competition, which had a budget overrun, was seen by Brazilian sports directors as a kind of test for the Olympic candidacy. Two years later, in 2009, Rio de Janeiro was chosen as the venue for the 2016 Olympics, an event held without major complications, despite the economic and political crisis that Brazil was going through at the time.
“We won’t need as many resources as in Pan-07 and Rio-16. Niterói, in addition to having a great HDI and a very good security situation, has a royalty fund. Let’s split the bill, right, Eduardo?” , said Rodrigo Neves, who heard the Rio mayor’s response: “You’re going to pay for everything.”
São Paulo presented its candidacy for the COB in July, in Paris, during the Olympics. The letter of intent was delivered by secretaries Ricardo Gomyde (International Relations) and Felipe Becari (Sports).
In a statement, the Ricardo Nunes (MDB) administration stated that the city “has already hosted major sporting tournaments, such as the opening of the 2014 World Cup”.
“São Paulo has the structure to host the event, which will be modernized to serve the entire population of São Paulo and tourists who will attend the games. The expectation is to ensure that everyone has access to equipment to encourage the sport and discover future talents”, says the notice.
The city even considered trying to host the 2027 Pan Pan — which will take place in Lima, Peru —, but had its request rejected by the COB.
The choice will be made at a COB assembly. The decision is expected to be taken after the new board takes office, on January 15th. The country can only submit one application to Panam Sports until January 31st.
“I can’t say anything, but I will give signals. There is an advantage that was mentioned by the elected mayor of Niterói. Lima hosted [o Pan] in 2019 and helped [para a escolha de] 2027. The difference was the expertise. The equipment was practically ready, just a little painting here and there. I’m relieved that I won’t be the one to decide this”, said Paulo Wanderley, defeated in the October elections by the ticket formed by Marco Antônio La Porta and Yane Marques.
In this first selection process, there will not be a complete application dossier, indicating works and costs. The details will take place until April, when the candidate cities must present the project to Panam Sports.
Paes said that he intends to indicate the port area as the location for the Vila dos Atletas, a region undergoing revitalization since 2009. He also indicated that he intends to include among the works necessary for the event the construction of subway line 3, a project that connects the city of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói under Guanabara Bay.
“With all due respect to São Paulo, it is very difficult to take away this vocation from Rio de Janeiro and Niterói to host international events that speak to the world,” said Neves.
According to Paes e Neves, the idea to present the proposal came from the elected vice-mayor of Niterói, Isabel Swan (PV), an Olympic medalist in sailing. She is president of the Panam Sports athletes’ committee.
