TORONTO, (Reuters) – Toronto was awarded the 2015 Pan  American Games yesterday by beating Bogota, Colombia and Lima,  Peru on the first ballot in a vote in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Toronto, which has twice failed in bids to land the Summer  Olympic Games, has budgeted $2.4 billion for the Games which  will be spread out across 16 other southern Ontario  municipalities.

Canada has twice before hosted the Pan Am Games in 1967 and  1999 in Winnipeg and is preparing to stage the Winter Olympics  in Vancouver next February.

Rio de Janeiro hosted the 2007 Pan Am Games and used the  event as a launch pad for its successful bid to land the 2016  Olympics.

The 2011 Pan American Games are to be held in Guadalajara  but have been beset by problems and construction delays.