Steele joins in C'dian sports countdown

Next year, Toronto, Canada, will be the host city of the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games. It will be the third time Canada has had the honour of hosting the games, doing so previously in 1967 and 1999 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

As a part of the countdown celebrations leading to the big games, there will be a series of crowd-pulling activities and, this Thursday, Jamaican artiste Steele (who now resides in Canada) will be in action at Celebration Square.

The free family day of activities at City Centre Drive in Mississauga will include dance, music, food and sports.

"It's a great honour to represent in the countdown activities. I am looking forward to showing sports enthusiasts a great time. What better marriage than sports and entertainment?" Steele asked rhetorically.

Steele, who is from Hanover, is an accomplished musician, songwriter and producer who has earned a strong reputation as a perfectionist with his professional approach to music.

The Pan American Games are the world's third-largest international multi-sport games, surpassed in size and scope only by the Olympic Summer Games and the Asian Games.

The first Pan American Games were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1951 and the inaugural Parapan American Games were held in Mexico City in 1999. Both the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games are held every four years for the athletes of 41 nations, in the year preceding the Olympic and Paralympic summer games.