TORONTO - The 2015 Pan Am Games launched today with a colourful logo that's being called the visual face of the Games.

The logo is a red and green cartoon figure that looks like it's kicking a blue ball and has the numbers 20 and 15, written in white, spread across it.

CEO Ian Troop says the logo will be a big part of the 2015 Games for sponsors -- some of whom have already expressed "significant" interest in the event.

In a videotaped statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says hosting the Games will reaffirm Toronto's position as a leading city of the Americas.

He says new sports infrastructure across the Greater Toronto Area will be a big part of the legacy of the Games.

With 10,000 athletes from 42 countries competing, Troop says the Pan Am Games will be bigger than the Winter Olympics and will run across southern Ontario from Niagara Falls to Oshawa.