Chile's new Sports Minister Jaime Pizarro was among those to attend, alongside Santiago 2023 chief executive Gianna Cunazza, President of the Chilean Olympic Committee Miguel Ángel Mujica and local politicians.

Canoe sprint and rowing are set to take place on Laguna Grande, a lake which lies more than 500 kilometres to the south of Santiago.

Pizarro said he wanted all regions of Chile to be involved with Santiago 2023, which is due to run between October 20 and November 5.

"For our Ministry, it is very important to bring together every kind of sport event to all Chileans," he said. 

"This is why I'm happy to be here in San Pedro de la Paz to kick off this multi-sport event, Santiago 2023, as it has been already done in other regions such as O'Higgins and Valparaíso. 

"So, we invite the community to be part of this festival because I'm sure that dreams related to sport can be achieved and we need everyone to be protagonists and part of this celebration."

Mujica added: "Sport events have all kinds of legacies, all of them are very important. 

"We would like children from San Pedro de la Paz to be inspired by the Games, so we could have, in the future, hundreds of new male and female rowers and athletes to give to Team Chile during the next years. 

"Let's transform sports into a great tool to have a better community."

Cunazza said the goal was to "bring together Chilean citizens".

"I would like to thank all the authorities from the region, the several institutions that have helped to make this possible, and I do believe this event is an example of all the work we've been doing to carry out the competitions," he said.