The Pan American Games in the Chilean capital will not only be historic for the number of athletes, the more than 1,500 hours of live transmission, the number of accredited media and the number of Olympic qualifiers, but also for the record of 28,720 people who applied to be a volunteer at the Games.
SANTIAGO, CHILE (May 16, 2023) — The continent’s most important sports festival continues to deliver impressive numbers as the opening date of the Games approaches.
Today a new record is set in the history of the Pan American Games in addition to the already established records of participating athletes (6,916), Olympic qualifiers to Paris 2024 (33), accredited media professionals (1,800+) and the number of hours that will be broadcast on live television (1,500+).
In total, 28,702 people from all over the world signed up to be volunteers for the Santiago 2023 Games, an increase in 114 people from the applicants for Lima 2019 and more than 5,000 more thanToronto 2015. A total of 26% of applicants are international, led by Peru with the most foreign registrations of 1,888 people. Applicants also registered from several other countries of the Americas, as well as Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
The breakdown of applicants were 57% women and 42% men. More than half of the total applicants are between the ages of 18 and 30, with a total of 19,517 young and potential volunteers.
The application pool will be submitted to a selection process that will result in a total of 17,000 volunteers being chosen to serve as volunteers at the continent’s most important multisport event.
“The next step on this path will be the selection process where we hope to form a final team of 17,000 volunteers who will support us in achieving our goal of delivering the best possible experience to the athletes and para-athletes who will visit Chile,” said Santiago 2023 Executive Director, Gianna Cunazza.
“It fills me with pride that thousands of Chileans and international applicants have signed up for this process. Volunteers are the heart of the Games, without them this sports festival could not take place. In addition, the interest of volunteers who will come from outside of Chile is impressive. They will have a fantastic experience and will be part of the history of the Pan American Games. We must all work together to make this celebration a success,” Panam Sports President Neven Ilic added emphatically.
KEY NUMBERS – SANTIAGO 2023 VOLUNTEERS
– 28,702 total applicants
– 57% women, 42% men and 1% other
– 26% international applicants
– 56% have previous volunteer experience
– 68% are youth aged 18-30
