“We’re so fortunate that we have all of the venues here in place and everything,” said Bullock. “That experience, the people, the enthusiasm of this market, the political support, we’re really, like, a dream city in terms of being able to bring back the games because all the pieces are in place.”
Will Salt Lake City and Park City host another Winter Olympics?
Last week, the Utah Committee for the Games met for the first time since the pandemic started to began the deliberation on what Winter Olympics bid Salt Lake should pursue: 2030 or 2034. KSL reports the committee met at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah, which was home to speed skating events at the 2002 Winter Olympics. All of Utah’s Olympic facilities have either been maintained or are undergoing renovations. A new airport has also opened, with more gates and concourses on the way.
The committee is basically an ensemble of the Avengers: Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Anton Ohno, Nathan Chen, Ted Ligety, among others. Former Olympian speed skater Catherine Raney-Norman was named the chair of the board. She competed in four Olympic games from 1998 to 2010 and then became Vice-Chair of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s (USOPC) Athletes’ Advisory Council. In 2012, she was appointed by former Utah Governor Gary Herbert to create an exploratory committee towards bringing the Winter Olympics back to Utah.
For years, Salt Lake City has wanted to follow up on its highly successful 2002 Winter Olympics. Los Angeles is hosting the summer games in 2028, which should create a challenging path towards SLC hosting in 2030. Salt Lake could alternatively aim for 2034 to improve their chances of winning it. The IOC usually doesn’t reward to back to back Olympic bids, but fewer countries are bidding for the games due to the negative impacts the Olympics cause on the local community. Former host Vancouver is interested in hosting in 2030 as well, along with various cities in Japan and Spain. Time will tell if Salt Lake will return to host, but it would be great to see Utah in the Olympic spotlight again.
Image Credits: Unsplash, Salt Lake 2030, Ski City
