U.S. rapper Kanye West will headline the Pan Am Games closing ceremony in Toronto, but the city's mayor says he would have preferred if a Canadian artist got top billing.

Pan Am organizers confirmed that the best-selling artist will perform at the ceremony on Sunday, July 26, stating simply: "Kanye West. Confirmed."

Serena Ryder and Pitbull will also perform at the event, organizers said.

West, who has referred to himself as the "greatest living rock star," has sold more than 21 million albums, and has worked with stars including Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Ludacris,and Janet Jackson.

Beyond his music, however, West is well-known for his personal life, making frequent appearances alongside wife Kim Kardashian on theTV show, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians." West and Kardashian have a two-year-old daughter and recently announced they are expecting a son in December.

At a news conference on Wednesday morning, Toronto Mayor John Tory let slip that he believed West is a Canadian artist, calling him a "proud product of our music industry."

He was quickly corrected by reporters, who told the mayor that West is American.

"I wish it'd been a Canadian. I also wish I'd known he wasn't Canadian. But you can't know everything."

An online petition asking for West to be removed as performer for the event had garnered nearly 4,000 signatures as of Wednesday night.

"Why was a local artist or group not chosen and supported, just as our local athletes are throughout the games?" wrote Allen Simans, author of the change.org petition.

West's performance will be part of the hours-long conclusion to the Pan Am Games. Organizers said the event will include other musical acts, and will honour all Games performances and partners.

The ceremony will conclude with the handing of a baton to representatives from Lima, Peru, the host city of the 2019 Pan Am Games. The Pan Am flame will also be extinguished at the foot of the CN Tower.

The closing ceremony will be held at the Rogers Centre, temporarily renamed the "Pan Am Dome," with events starting at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online, and start at $90.