Valledupar 2026: 50 facts to help you enjoy the Pan American Games with 50 days to go

Valledupar, May 16, 2026. Valledupar and Agustín Codazzi are already feeling the excitement of the second Parasur American Games in history, an event that will bring together more than a thousand Para athletes from the Americas and bring this multisport competition back to the hemisphere after more than a decade. Infrastructure, legacy, sports, volunteerism, inclusion, and legacy are all part of a countdown that is already beginning to be felt in every venue, street, and community.

The Return of the Parasur American Games to the Paralympic Cycle

1. The Parasur American Games are returning after a 12-year hiatus.
2. The first edition of the continental competition was held in Santiago, Chile, in 2014.
3. Valledupar will be the host city, and Agustín Codazzi will be the official sub-venue for the event.
4. The competitions will begin on July 2, 2026, with the first days of Para-cycling and women’s wheelchair basketball.
5. The Opening Ceremony will take place on July 5 at the Armando Maestre Pavajeau Stadium.
6. The Closing Ceremony will take place in Valledupar’s iconic Alfonso López Square.
7. The Games will feature the participation of 11 countries from the continent.
8. Bolivia and Paraguay from South America, and Panama, the guest country from Central America, will make their debut in the history of the Parasur American Games.
9. Renowned sports leader Elmer Jiménez Silva is the director of the II Parasur American Games Valledupar 2026.
10. Jiménez Silva also led the organization of the 2022 Bolivarian Games in Valledupar, becoming the driving force behind the region’s most important international events.

City, Infrastructure, and Legacy

11. Valledupar will have nine sports venues for the competitions.
12. Two additional venues will operate at the Agustín Codazzi sub-venue.
13. Most of the sports venues are legacies of the 2022 Bolivarian Games.
14. The Cesar Governor’s Office is renovating nine sports venues with an investment exceeding $16.785 billion.
15. The distance between Valledupar and Agustín Codazzi is approximately 62 kilometers.
16. The trip between Valledupar and the Agustín Codazzi sub-venue takes about an hour by road.
17. In the past, Agustín Codazzi was known as “the cotton capital of Colombia”; it is now referred to as “the agro-industrial capital of Cesar.”
18. The Parasuramerican multi-sport event will have 21 hotels and three country houses to accommodate athletes, officials, judges, and the Parasuramerican family.
19. More than 2,000 visitors are expected during the 2026 Parasuramerican Games in Valledupar.
20. As part of the environmental legacy left by the Parasur American Games, plans are in place to plant 20,000 trees in Valledupar and Agustín Codazzi.

Sports and Competition Program

21. Valledupar 2026 will feature competitions in 13 Paralympic sports.
22. The second edition of the Games will include six more sports than Santiago 2014.
23. Badminton will make its debut in the Parasur American program.
24. Sitting volleyball and goalball will also make their debuts.
25. Blind football will make its debut at Valledupar 2026.
26. Para archery and Para cycling will also be making their Paralympic debuts.
27. Wheelchair basketball (with three qualifying spots in both men’s and women’s divisions) and blind football (one spot for the champion) are the two sports that will offer qualification for the 2027 Parapan American Games in Lima.
28. Several Paralympic champions will be in attendance at the 2026 Valledupar Parapan American Games.

Medals and Major Competitions

29. In total, Valledupar 2026 will award 306 gold medals.
30. Para swimming will be the sport with the most gold medals, awarding 120 medals.
31. The Para swimming competitions will take place at the Aquatic Complex of the Universidad Popular del Cesar.
32. The UPC pool, where Para swimming will be held, is internationally certified and is also notable for being an indoor venue.
33. Para athletics at Valledupar 2026 will award 81 gold medals.
34. The José Luis Parada Stadium at the La Gota Fría High-Performance Sports Complex will host the Para athletics competitions.
35. At Valledupar 2026, Para table tennis will award 22 hemispheric titles.
36. The Para table tennis competitions will take place at the Vallenato Music Cultural Center (CCMV).
37. Para powerlifting will feature 22 gold medals up for grabs.
38. The UPC Gymnastics Coliseum will host the powerlifting events of the second Parasur American Games in history.
39. At the Agustín Codazzi sub-venue, Para cycling will award 13 gold medals.
40. The La Palizada departmental road will be the natural setting for Parasur American cycling.
41. At the Parasur American Games, Para archery will award 13 gold medals.
42. The Para archery competitions will take place at the Armando Maestre Pavajeau Stadium.
43. Para badminton will award 15 gold medals.
44. Boccia will award 11 gold medals, and wheelchair tennis six (6).
45. Goalball, wheelchair basketball, and sitting volleyball are three of the four team sports that will award titles in both men’s and women’s divisions.
46. Blind football will award a gold medal only in the men’s division.

Volunteering, Organization, and Media

47. A total of 1,543 people completed the preliminary registration for the Volunteer Program. For Valledupar 2026, 400 volunteers will be selected.
48. Women led participation in the preliminary phase of the Volunteer Program, accounting for 54.8% of registrations.
49. 78 people with disabilities also applied to the Volunteer Program.
50. The international call for volunteers received applications from 11 countries.

Additional information: In the department of Cesar, the Parapan-American Flame’s journey will begin on June 27 in Aguachica (southern Cesar) and will pass through La Jagua (central Cesar), Becerril, and the Agustín Codazzi sub-venue before arriving in Valledupar. It will then remain at Parque de La Vida until the opening ceremony on July 5.

Meanwhile, the city continues to finalize details to host an event that will not only celebrate Paralympic sport but also inclusion, resilience, and the transformative power of the region. Because with 50 days to go until the start of the Games: “The legend never stops.”