Salt Lake City will host the Olympics again after the IOC formally awarded the 2034 Winter Games to the United States bid Wednesday.
PARIS — Salt Lake City was formally awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics following a Wednesday vote by the International Olympic Committee in Paris, which gives Utah its second Games after hosting in 2002.
A watch party was planned at 3 a.m. local time — 11 a.m. in Paris — to celebrate the announcement. Large crowds were expected at the event that coincides with a state holiday marking the date Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley in northern Utah. Olympic fanatics were already starting to gather downtown and pitch tents before sunset Tuesday.
Salt Lake City was the lone contender the Olympic committee was considering for 2034. 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 enthusiastic repeat host if the committee goes forward with a proposed permanent rotation of Winter Olympic cities.
