Bidding, Planning, and Organizing

This chapter describes several milestone events within the organization of the South American Games, including the local organizing committee’s (LOC’s) ability to manage the organizational complexities of staging such a venture. It also provides a historical account of the Chilean government’s failed attempts to bid and host SMEs and offers plausible explanations as to why recent government officials have changed their approach to bidding on these events. Arguably, the South American Games have served as the ignitor for bringing more and larger events to Chile. Recent success of the Santiago bid over the 2023 Pan American Games shows how the South American Games have played an important role in the current arms race for bringing larger and more challenging SMEs to Chile.