It sounds like the Winter Olympics will be returning to Salt Lake City.
Last weekend, the International Olympic Committee announced that they will announce the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 Olympics at the same time. KSLNewsRadio reports that Utah leaders believe that this revelation is the “best evidence yet” that the games will return to Salt Lake City.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox detailed the significance of this news:
“Next to saying, ‘we award the games to Salt Lake City’ this is the next best thing…And [it’s] the clearest evidence we have so far that Utah is very likely to get the games.”
The interested bidders for 2030 include Sweden, Switzerland, and France. These interested parties won’t be able to bid on the 2034 games as well due to the two events being announced at the same time. Utah leaders pushed the IOC to announce both at once, and they obliged. Salt Lake also said that they can host in 2030 if the other parties for that Olympics drop out.
While Salt Lake City is the only place that has actively announced a 2034 bid, other cities are considering entering the ring. With the amount of world-class athletes vying for the return of the games, it seems likely that Salt Lake City will see the Winter Olympics return in 2034.
On November 21st, the leaders of Utah’s Olympic bid will make their pitch to the Future Host Commission. After that, the Future Host Commission will give its recommendation to the IOC on November 30th and December 1st. The official selection of the host cities for 2030 and 2034 is expected to be announced in the first half of 2024.
Salt Lake City first hosted the Olympics back in 2002. All of the venues remain operational to this day, although some will need some renovations before the next games. The Olympics was one of the major factors in Salt Lake City’s growth over the past two decades, which has been for better and for worse.
Image/Video Credits: Jake Weirick (Featured Image), Brent Pace, KSL News
