The 1959 Pan American Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between 28 August and 7 September 1959.
One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO), along with three cities that withdrew their bids. On 11 March 1955, at the IV Pan American Congress in Mexico City, PASO selected Cleveland unanimously to host the III Pan American Games.
On April 15, 1957, Cleveland asked PASO to be relieved of their assignment as the host city. Subsequently, both Guatemala City and Rio de Janeiro informed PASO that they would not be able to host the games either. Two cities came forward as candidates host the games, Chicago and São Paulo, and on 3 August 1957, Chicago was selected over São Paulo by a vote of 13 to 6.
