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Hundreds of people and students from the main education institutions of Cuzco participated in the lighting ceremony of the Pan American Cauldron at the end of the Torch tour around the city.
With artistic representations inspired by the spirit of the majestic Inca Empire, the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega stadium, witness to the great triumphs of Football in Cuzco, came alive with celebration and much joy when chosen as the starting point of the Pan American Torch tour throughout the entire country.
Carlos Neuhaus, Lima 2019 Organizing Committee President arrived from Machu Picchu especially to participate in this symbolic ceremony where athlete Rina Cjura was chosen to light the cauldron and to participate in the Lima 2019 Games for the 3000-meter steeplechase.
“It is exciting to see two cultures come together, the Teotihuacán ruins belongs to a 2000-year-old culture, which was kept as a sacred monument by the Aztecs and what we have done is bring together our two main cultures, Aztecs and Inca, with the arrival of the Pan American Torch” said Neuhaus.
“Sports know no borders, religions, divisions. It can be applied to everuthing. Sports brings people together. Sports is the reason 41 countries, including ours, and 6 680 world’s best athletes are coming to participate in the Lima 2019 Games. There will be 22 qualifying competitions for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, for the first time in Game's history as it was a smaller number before”, added the president of COPAL as part of his statement in the stadium in Cuzco.
Neuhaus highlighted the importance of carrying out the Games in the country. “We now have the list of competitors and we have gold medalists from previous Olympic Games. We will have world champions and Peru will celebrate. These Games will be held in Lima as a feature of these events.Unlike Football World Cup that it is held throughout the country. Even when the invitation was made on behalf of the city, the entire country participates”, declared Neuhaus.
“With this tour we are uniting all Peruvians. We started in Cuzco and continue to Puno, Titicaca Lake, Arequipa, Moquegua, Nazca Lines, Chan Chan, Caral and others. There will be many other places and millions of people will follow us on TV and other media. This will have a huge impact in tourism and we will have to make an effort to accommodate all athletes that will visit us in a few days and welcome them with open arms so they will take home a good impression of our country”, emphasized.
Meanwhile, Rina Cjuro said she was excited to be chosen to light up the cauldron. “I am very excited to have this privilege. We are happy to receive the torch in our beloved Cuzco. We, athletes, are committed to do our best so we make our country happy”, reassured the athlete.
ABOUT LIMA 2019
The opening ceremony of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games will be held at the National Stadium in July 26, 2019. This continental event will gather 6680 athletes from 41 countries and delegations from the Americas.
There will be 17 days of competitions and ceremonies between July 26 and August 11, which will take place in 14 districts of Lima and Callao at various venues like VIDENA, Villa María Sports Center, Callao Regional Village, Villa El Salvador Sports Center, Punta Rocas, among others.
The Lima 2019 Pan American Games will include 39 sports and 61 disciplines, in which athletes will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. A total of 22 disciplines are qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The Parapan American Games will gather 1890 Para athletes from 33 countries, participating in 17 sports and 18 disciplines. Competitions will take place from August 23 to September 1, 2019. Thirteen sports will be qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
