In case you haven’t heard, Toronto is the host city of the 2015 Pan Am Para Pan Am Games! The city is buzzing and Canadians are proud of their athletes. There have been some grumblings in the media about the traffic and crowds, but I personally think this is a great opportunity to show the world what a great city Toronto is.
It’s also allowed me to take a step back and look at the city with new eyes. Sometimes when you’re so used to the day to day grind you forget to appreciate just how much the city you live in has to offer; so I decided to get up early and played a tourist in Toronto during Pan Am 2015 for the morning.
Nathan Phillip’s Square will no doubt be a Pan Am games hub. I love that so many people were taking in the colourful atmosphere and snapping photos with the 3D Toronto sign. Toronto has a very urban atmosphere which means that often times there isn’t much contrast between all the buildings. The bright Toronto sign and stage setup definitely promotes a joyous atmosphere!
Of course when you play tourist you have to shoot a photo of yourself with some of the tourism landmarks right? If you want a photo of yourself without anyone else around I suggest you head out early in the morning. As the day goes on, the area will be filled with people taking in free concerts via “Panamania” and also watching jumbo screen broadcasting The Games live.
If you’re in the East end of the city there will also be free concerts in The Distillery District, and for those more west check out free shows on the CNE grounds.
Also near Nathan Phillips Square you can snap a photo with Patchi the Pan Am Mascot! I actually didn’t get to take a photo with it – I was helping other people snap photos and I forgot to get one of my own!
Just walking around the city you’ll probably see some exciting things. One of the Canadian athletes walk right by me wearing her GOLD medal! I saw soon after she was heading to give a TV interview 🙂
If you were like me and was only able to check out the opening ceremonies from home here’s a video of the spectacular fireworks show that lit up the CN Tower via Jason Thomas:
Every night during the Pan Am games you can catch a fireworks show at Nathan Phillips Square so you have plenty of time to take it all in!
I just bought tickets to see the medals boxing session (my husband boxes) so I’m really looking forward to that. But even if you’re not going to check out an actual event there’s still plenty of Pan Am related events to enjoy!
What do you think of playing tourist in your own city?
I agree, I love how the city seems to have come alive during the games. I work in the Distillery sometimes and during the week it’s dead there. This week there were vendors, stages and so many people walking around. It’s awesome!
That’s awesome! The Distillery is so magical when there are events happening!