Utah’s capital city was the only candidate for 2034 after the Olympic committee gave Salt Lake City exclusive negotiating rights last year.
Salt Lake City was formally awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics following a Wednesday vote by the International Olympic Committee in Paris, giving Utah its second Games after hosting in 2002.
About a thousand sports fans gathered downtown at 3 a.m. local time — 11 a.m. in Paris — to watch the long-anticipated announcement live. Some dressed in ski gear in the summer heat, while others donned Team USA merchandise and waved flags with the Olympic rings. The crowd erupted in cheers as Olympic officials made their final decision to return to a city where they said the local enthusiasm was palpable even two decades after it first hosted.
Utah’s capital city was the only candidate for 2034 after the Olympic committee gave Salt Lake City exclusive negotiating rights last year. Climate change and high operational costs have reduced the number of cities willing and able to welcome the Winter Games. Utah has capitalized on low interest elsewhere, pitching itself to Olympic officials as an eager repeat host if the committee eventually adopts a permanent rotation of Winter Olympic cities. Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi said Salt Lake City would be a prime candidate for such a plan.
Local leaders had their sights set on hosting multiple times even before Salt Lake City welcomed its first Games, bid team spokesperson Tom Kelly said. Remnants of the 2002 Games are nestled throughout the city and have kept the Olympic fever alive. Organizers of the 2034 Games touted that enduring enthusiasm throughout the selection process and showed visiting Olympic officials how they have preserved nearly all the venues used in 2002.
