Pan American Games 2023 declared open with grand Opening Ceremony in Santiago
The 19th Pan American Games, and first to be hosted in Chile, was officially declared open with a vibrant ceremony in the Santiago's National Stadium on 20 October, featuring diverse and energetic performances.
The Pan American Games Santiago 2023 officially kicked off with a stunning Opening Ceremony on Friday (20 October).
Demonstrating innovative choreography, the first part of the show featured several differently-shaped rock formations that were pulled together to create a stage that represented Chile's famously mountainous and rocky terrain.
It was the perfect backdrop to an explosion of colour, music, and movement that celebrated athletes, Indigenous peoples, and poetry.
Renowned local artist Juanita Parra made the crowd vibrate with a drum solo with Andean rhythms to make the crowd vibrate, and a rolling Mexican wave that seemingly fed off that energy, greeted the athletes' parade with six or seven continuous laps.
President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, was received with applause alongside Chile’s President Gabriel Bóric Font, who opened the Games with a welcome speech before the torch was lit.
Then it was over to Colombian singer Sebastian Yatra, who had most of the crowd of around 40,000 on their feet from start to finish of his energetic performance.
The two-time Latin Grammy Award winner is well known at the event already, having toured different venues over the past few days and visited his compatriot, two-time BMX cycling Olympic champion Mariana Pajón.
The show also included performances from Chilean bands Los Jaivas, Los Tres, rapper Ana Tijoux, and Movimiento Original, performers of the official anthem of Santiago 2023, 'A la Cima'.
Supplementing those acts, 5,000 dancers and performers and other urban artists conveyed the cultural diversity and unity of Chile.
Almost 7000 athletes from 41 countries will compete in 39 sports at the Pan American Games 2023, with Olympic quotas contested in 25 disciplines.