Scouts created the fire before officials including Cali Mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina and Valle del Cauca Governor Clara Luz Roldan were part of train delivering it to Panam Sports President Neven Ilic.

Ilic lit the torch which will tour the Valle del Cauca department in advance of the first-ever Junior Pan American Games.

Valeria Cabezas, Colombia's 400 metres hurdles champion at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, was chosen to start the Torch Relay along with Juan Manuel Morales, a national youth swimming champion.

The Torch itself is inspired by a bird's nest and said to represent how young athletes may be beginning a flight to greatness at the Junior Pan American Games.

The Games begin on November 25.

Before then, the Torch Relay is scheduled to visit locations including Barranquilla - host of the 2027 Pan American Games, as well as baseball and softball at Cali 2021 - the Lord of Miracles of Buga statue, the Miguel Calero Hockey Coliseum and finally the Junior Pan American Cauldron.

All 41 countries and territories affiliated with Panam Sports have committed to sending a team to Cali 2021, where COVID-19 vaccination has been made mandatory for all competitors aged 18 and above.

A two-and-a-half-month delay to the event was previously blamed on the coronavrius pandemic, although Cali has been the epicentre for protests against Colombia's President Iván Duque this year, leading to a violent crackdown and dozens of deaths nationwide.

An Amnesty International report in July concluded that the authorities in Cali were guilty of "the use of lethal weapons against protesters, excessive and unlawful use of less lethal weapons such as tear gas, unlawful detentions and torture" - and that this was "the modus operandi implemented throughout the country".

The Junior Pan American Games is being billed as a key event in the lead-up to the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games and Paris 2024 Olympics, allowing up-and-coming athletes a platform they would not have had in years gone by.