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Pan Am organizers head to Mexico to bring back flame for cross-Canada relay

Staff place the official Pan Am torch back in its glass enclosure after unveiling the torch in Toronto on Monday, March 16, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

TORONTO – Organizers for this summer’s Pan Am Games are heading to Mexico to fetch the flame that will be carried across Canada in the days leading up to the international competition.

The chair of the organizing committee says the flame will be lit Monday at the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico, before it is transported to Canada.

READ MORE: Olympians among familiar names to carry Toronto Pan Am Games torch

David Peterson says the flame will arrive in Toronto on May 30, when it will begin its 41-day journey across more than 130 communities.

He says the torch’s arrival on home ground will be marked with a “dramatic ceremony” at the city’s waterfront, followed by a community celebration.

Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield will be the first of more than 3,000 to carry the torch.

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READ MORE: Canada’s Pan Am Games uniforms inspired by Canadian flag

The relay is scheduled to end on July 10 with the lighting of the cauldron at the Games’ opening ceremony.

The Pan Am Games run from July 10 to 26, with the Parapan Am Games to follow from Aug. 7 to 15.

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