Utah City Looks to Save Winter Olympics After Announcing a $2.2 Billion Deal to IOC

It is an honor for any city to host the Olympic Games. Next year, Paris will have the privilege of playing host to the best talents in multi-sport competitions. With just eight months left for the opening ceremony, the International Olympic Committee has some exciting news for the United States of America. The IOC members decided on Sunday to finalize the venues for the 2030 and 2034 Winter Games together before the 2024 Paris Olympics gets rolling.

Salt Lake City in Utah is the only candidate up for consideration at the moment. Many of the staple hosts, like Sapporo and Vancouver, are reluctant to take the job. In this situation, Utah has come forward to save the Olympics. Will this give America a leg up in securing hosting rights for both Winter Games?

Salt Lake City’s astonishing bid for the Olympics

Salt Lake City has put in its name for consideration as the host city quite early. Meanwhile, three other candidates are still finalizing the details of their bid. Utah’s Salt Lake City prefers to host the Winter Games in 2034, but with the limited applications so far, chances are they will host both Winter Games in 2030 and 2034. US Speedskating is excited by the update and reshared a post on Facebook captioned, “Today the IOC formally ratified the decision to award the 2030 and 2034 Olympics together right before Paris 2024! Salt Lake’s chances are looking better than ever!!”

Equally excited is Fraser Bullock, president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games. He spoke to KSL.com to express his happiness at the prospect, saying, “I think it’s everything we could have hoped for”. According to estimates, each iteration of the Winter Games will bring about $2.2 billion in revenue to Salt Lake City. Although it might be financially beneficial for the city to host both Winter Games, doing so will probably snub a lot of local investors.

The preparations for the 2030 Winter Games will clash with the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. This will place a lot of strain on the domestic sponsors. Therefore, the Utah Committee wants to host the Olympics in 2034, when it is far more feasible. Fraser Bullock has acquired all the permissions from the Utah Legislature and the Federal Government, but the true battle begins now.

Utah navigating the path to hosting the 2034 Olympics

Governor Spencer Cox and Mayor Erin Mendenhall are preparing for their virtual presentation before the IOC’s Future Host Commission to prove Salt Lake City’s worth as the host. The final decision and the contract details will be deliberated in the IOC meeting on November 30. By then, Salt Lake City will have competition for the hosting rights from Switzerland, Sweden, and France. However, Karl Stoss of Austria said that Salt Lake City “has already secured all guarantees for 2030 and 2034”. Thus, they are in a better position than the other candidates.

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Fraser Bullock said, “We have put tremendous effort into staying ahead of the bid process”. He is now waiting for the green light from the IOC President Thomas Bach. With this show of stability, Utah has also become an ideal candidate as the rotational host for the Olympics. Bullock has welcomed the update and is stoked for the end results. With this development, we are looking at the United States becoming a constant source of snow sports excitement every couple of years.

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