The 20th Bolivarian Games will take place from November 22 to December 7 in Peru, with Ayacucho and Lima serving as the main host cities. The event will bring together more than 4,500 athletes from 17 countries under the organization of the Bolivarian Sports Organization –ODEBO–. It will mark the twentieth edition of a multisport competition held every four years and recognized as a key milestone on the regional sporting calendar.
Peru will host the Games with a programme featuring 42 sports, many of them part of the Olympic schedule. Most competitions will be held in Ayacucho and Lima, with venues prepared in coordination with national federations and institutional partners to ensure operational readiness. The arrival of the Bolivarian Flame at Jorge Chávez International Airport symbolically marked the beginning of this new edition, in a ceremony led by the President of the Republic, José Jerí Oré, and the President of the Organizing Committee, Sergio Ludeña.
A tradition rooted in more than two millennia
The Ayacucho–Lima 2025 Games will feature delegations from the seven founding members of ODEBO, as well as recognised and invited nations, bringing the total to 17 participating countries. More than 4,500 athletes will compete in sports such as athletics, swimming, weightlifting, judo, wrestling, surfing, cycling and sailing, shaping a broad and diverse programme.
Participating nations include Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panamá, Peru and Venezuela as ODEBO members, joined by Curaçao, El Salvador, Guatemala, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic. Invited nations for this edition are Barbados, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay. During the ceremony welcoming the Bolivarian Flame, the President of the Peruvian Olympic Committee –COP–, Renzo Manyari, highlighted that “the Bolivarian Flame holds a tradition of more than 2,000 years, dating back to the first Olympic Games, where it was used as a symbol of peace”.
Olympic athletes set to shine at Ayacucho–Lima 2025
Among the Peruvian athletes competing is Stefano Peschiera, bronze medallist in sailing at Paris 2024, securing the country’s first Olympic medal in more than three decades. Also competing will be race walker Kimberly García, shooter Nicolás Pacheco, and surfers such as Alonso Correa, Lucca Messinas, Sol Aguirre and Arena Rodríguez, representing disciplines in which Peru has strengthened its competitive presence. The host nation will field one of the largest delegations in its history, aiming for a leading position in the medal table.
International participation will include athletes such as Colombia’s Tatiana Rentería, Olympic bronze medallist in wrestling at Paris 2024, and Brenda Olaya, junior world champion in judo. Venezuela will be represented by Olympic medallists in weightlifting, including Keydomar Vallenilla and Julio Mayora, while Ecuador will showcase boxer Gerlon Congo, one of its most prominent athletes in the regional circuit.
The route of the Bolivarian Flame
In the months leading up to the event, adjustments were made to some venues in Ayacucho and certain competitions were relocated, measures coordinated by local authorities and national federations to maintain the planned schedule. The Bolivarian Flame was formally handed to the President of the Organizing Committee, Sergio Ludeña, who stated that “the 20th Bolivarian Games Ayacucho–Lima 2025 are not only a multisport event but also an opportunity to show the country and the region that Peru can organize, unite and project its best version when working with conviction”.
The arrival of the flame was witnessed by government authorities and representatives of institutions involved in the event. The CEO of Lima Airport Partners, Juan José Salmón, noted that “we are pleased to welcome the Bolivarian Flame at the airport. We are ready to receive so many talented athletes in the coming days”. According to Sergio Ludeña, “the legacy of these Games will be both tangible and symbolic”, highlighting their impact on infrastructure, the economy, and sporting values that will accompany the development of the competition.
