GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AFP) - Toronto was on Friday named as the host city of the 2015 Pan-American Games, seeing off rival bids from Lima and Bogota.

"The city that will assume the responsibility for the 2015 Pan-American Games is....Toronto," announced Mario Vazquez Rana, the president of the Pan-American Sports Organisation (Odepa).

Toronto won in the first round of voting with 33 votes. Lima received 11 votes while Bogota had seven.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper described the vote as an important day for the country which will also host the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

"This is an exciting day for all Canadians. We are all looking forward to welcoming the Games in 2015," he said in a statement released in Quebec.

"Canadians love sports and we are known for our hospitality, an unbeatable combination for successful Games."

Toronto mayor David Miller added: "Toronto promises to organise the best Pan-American Games in history and I am certain that Lima and Bogota will one day win the right to host them."

The Pan-American Games have taken place in Canada on two previous occasions - in Winnipeg in 1967 and 1999.

Toronto's budget for the 2015 Games is 2.5 billion dollars, 10 times more than the 259 million of Lima with Bogota's budget set at 200 million.