Salt Lake City to Host 2034 Winter Olympics: Utah’s Second Chance

Salt Lake City Awarded 2034 Winter Olympics

Salt Lake City has officially been awarded the right to host the 2034 Winter Olympics following an International Olympic Committee vote in Paris on Wednesday, giving Utah the opportunity to host the Winter Olympics for the second time after hosting the event in 2002. A viewing party is planned to celebrate the news at 3am local time (11am in Paris). Large crowds are expected for the event, which coincides with a national holiday commemorating the day Mormon pioneers discovered the Salt Lake Valley in northern Utah. Before sunset on Tuesday, Olympic fanatics had begun gathering downtown and setting up tents.

Preparations and Enthusiasm

Salt Lake City is the only contender considered by the Olympic Committee to host the 2034 Winter Olympics. Utah has taken advantage of lackluster interest elsewhere, pitching itself to Olympic committee officials as an enthusiastic repeat host if the committee goes forward with its proposal for a permanent rotation of Winter Olympic cities. Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubey has said Salt Lake City would be a leading candidate for the plan. Tom Kelly, a spokesman for the bid team, said even before Salt Lake City welcomed its first Olympics, local leaders had set the goal of hosting multiple Olympics.

Impact on Salt Lake City and Beyond

In its final report to the Olympic Committee on Wednesday morning, the bid team is expected to outline plans for one of the most compact layouts in Olympic history, with all venues within an hour’s drive of the Athletes Village on the University of Utah campus. The scheme does not require new permanent buildings, all 13 venues are already in place and each played a role in the city’s first hosting of the event. For Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, securing the bid is critical to his goal of solidifying the state as the winter sports capital of North America.

American freestyle skier Christopher Lillis, a gold medalist at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, said the 2034 Olympics will be a dream come true for young people with Olympic dreams. Salt Lake City has grown a lot since 2010, Lillis said his family started traveling here, and things have become more expensive. Lillis has been training at nearby Utah Olympic Park and said the area’s sports facilities are “top-notch.” Matthew Lindon, a 45-year-old resident of the Park City, Utah, ski resort community where many events are held, said the city has expanded significantly since he arrived. “The motto of the 2002 Olympics was ‘The whole world is welcome.’ “In fact, we put Utah on the map and now we’re a world-class ski resort,” he said.