page_title: 1987 Pan American Games
section_title: Opening ceremony
hierarchical_section_title: 1987 Pan American Games / Games / Opening ceremony
caption_attribution_description: English: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Deutsch: Luftbild vom Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Polski: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 日本語: インディアナポリス・モーター・スピードウェイ. コース遠景. Italiano: Vista aerea dell'Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Suomi: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Magyar: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Bahasa Indonesia: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, sirkuit yang digunakan Grand Prix Amerika Serikat. Foto Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Српски / srpski: Стаза Индијанаполис на којој се вози Велика награда САД-а. Hrvatski: Staza Indianapolis Motor Speedway, staza Velike nagrade SAD. Galego: O Indianapolis Motor Speedway, que dende o ano 2000 acolle o Gran Premio de Estados Unidos. Bosanski: Staza Indianapolis Motor Speedway, staza Velike nagrade SAD. Македонски: Патеката за моторни трки во Индијанаполис. Afrikaans: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, plek waar die US Grand Prix plaasvind.
context_page_description: The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas competed in 30 sports, earning 1,015 medals. Events were held at 23 venues in and around Indianapolis. The official mascot for the games was Amigo, a green parrot.
context_section_description: The opening ceremony was held on the main straight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the site of the Indianapolis 500. Crowd size reports range from 69,518, the official capacity of the stadium proper, to 80,000. The show, The Magic that is America was produced by The Walt Disney Company at a cost of several million dollars. The 6,500 performers made it the largest outdoor live entertainment show held in the United States up to that date. It was also the largest opening ceremony of the Pan Am games to that time.
  Sandi Patty was a featured singer and the show included hot air balloons and military fighter jets. Dignitaries included IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, Indianapolis Mayor William H. Hudnut III, Indiana Governor Robert D. Orr, and PASO President Mario Vazquez Raña. 
  American Vice President George H. W. Bush officially opened the games, and additional security protocols for his presence led to about 5000 people being delayed in lines, with twelve people fainting.
  Flag bearers in the Parade of Nations included the games' oldest athlete, 70-year-old yachtsman Durwood Knowles of the Bahamas, basketball star José Ortiz of Puerto Rico, and baseball pitcher Jim Abbott of the United States. The Canadian delegation engaged with the crowd by playing frisbee with them. The final leg of the torch relay had the flame passed from Indianapolis-born basketball player Oscar Robertson to gymnast Kristie Phillips to sprinter Wilma Rudolph, also from Indianapolis, who lit the cauldron.
  During the opening ceremony, a plane chartered by anti-Castro Cuban-American activists flew a banner urging Cuban athletes to defect.
caption: Opening ceremonies and speed roller skating were held in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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