Pereira, Colombia
The opening ceremony took place on August 12, 2005, at the Estadio Hernán Ramírez Villegas in Pereira, Colombia. The Games were officially opened by Colombian president Álvaro Uribe. Torch lighter was former road racing cyclist Rubén Darío Gómez, gold medallist at the 1961 Bolivarian Games. The athlete's oath was sworn by weightlifter Óscar Figueroa