SLC possibly hosting 2034 Olympics, expected to improve Utah’s reputation
On Nov. 29, Fraser Bullock, the president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, announced Utah will most likely be hosting the 2034 Olympics and Paralympics.
The last time Utah hosted the Olympics was in 2002. Mitt Romney was on the organizing committee at the time. After the 2002 games, Romney spoke on the effects of having them hosted in Utah.
“These games changed people’s perspective on Utah,” Romney said in a press conference in 2002. “I have no doubt that these games will change this beautiful state’s reputation for the better.”
Elizabeth Richards, a USU sophomore majoring in business, said she has been a big fan of the Olympics since childhood.
“I’ve always felt like the Olympics are very special,” Richards said. “I’ve always seen them as an act of unity among many different countries.”
Richards holds vivid memories of watching the games with her family, especially figure skating.
“I remember being so excited as a kid when I went skating at the Olympic Oval in Salt Lake,” Richards said. “I think Utah hosting the games again would give everyone a reminder how beautiful it is here.”
Lucy Lind, a junior studying speech pathology, has always been a big fan of the gymnastics competitions.
“I feel like a lot of outsiders from Utah have distorted views on what this state is really about,” Lind said. “Some people don’t realize that Utah has a lot to offer. I think if Utah were to host the games in 2034, it would boost our reputation and show everyone that this really is a great state, regardless of the downsides that some people may see.”
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the city’s bid to host the Olympics has been set in motion since 2012. Originally, the exploratory committee had their eyes set on the 2030 games. However, with LA hosting the 2028 games, they decided it would best to space things out better geographically.
The process of getting Utah close to being confirmed to host the 2034 games hasn’t been easy.
According to the committee, many things changed during the bidding process. Initially, bids from Vancouver, Japan, Canada and Sapporo faltered and fell through. The International Olympic Committee then decided to open up bids to more sites.
France, Switzerland and Sweden all put in bids within the past year, which left Utahns on the edge of their seats, hoping Utah would still have its chance to host.
The additional bids from other sites didn’t stop Utah from securing the spot.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, out of the other potential sites, Utah is the only one with all of its government contracts and assurances in place that would be needed by the IOC. With that set in place, Utah was much closer to securing a spot in either the 2030 or 2034 games.
Utahns celebrated not only for the hosting spot, but for the desired year the committee had been hoping for in the first place.
It has been quite some time since Utah has hosted the games, and people are expecting good things for the state from this opportunity.