It waited two days, but seemed appropriate that Salt Lake City launched its celebration of the final big step towards being awarded the 2034 Olympic Winter Games while the city was on the brink of the season’s first major snowfall event.
On Friday night the Salt Lake City 2034 Olympic bid board of directors signed an acceptance letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) acknowledging the project’s inclusion in the ‘targeted dialogue’ stage of the bid process, and then the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic cauldron at Rice-Eccles Stadium was ceremoniously relit as hundreds of gathered residents erupted in celebration.
The good news came Wednesday after the IOC’s Executive Board meeting where Salt Lake City – on the recommendation of the IOC’s Future Host Commission (FHC) – was named the only preferred candidate for hosting in 2034. Translation: After dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s in already-written documents required from SLC-UT to firm up plans, the bid will go to the IOC’s all-members Session next July in Paris for an expected rubberstamp of approval.
Then the real party can begin.
Organizers tried to keep cool in the lead up to the cauldron relighting that had been planned before the milestone announcement, but that eventually became a challenge when the SLC-UT board assembled for the first time since Wednesday.
CEO of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Sarah Hirshland joined bid president Fraser Bullock, chair Catherine Raney-Norman, Salt Lake City mayor Erin Mendenhall and Utah governor Spencer Cox and proclaimed the United States was about to “kick off a decade of sport in this country that has never been seen before.”
Los Angeles has already been awarded the 2028 Summer Games. The Salt Lake City bid has been in development for 10 years, and received the USOPC nomination in 2018.
“You guys did that,” Hirshland said, according to a Deseret News report.
“Seriously, that’s incredible. Ten years in which this country will be the center of the sporting world and it gives us the opportunity to lead in a way we’ve never led before.
“So thank you for putting us in that position. … We’re going to kill it together.”
Several Olympians and Paralympians and future star young athletes were in attendance to mark the celebratory mood.
The Board of Directors did manage to cover some business in addition to the letter to be delivered to the IOC.
New branding was introduced to make clear that the target Games will now be the 2034 edition, removing the possibility of SLC-UT being plan B for the 2030 Games – something that the bid offered the Olympic Movement if no other options were found by the IOC.
That need was eliminated Wednesday when the IOC named French Alps to targeted dialogue for 2030, eliminating Sweden from the race and positioning Switzerland for 2038 in a new ‘privileged dialogue’ phase.
IOC Executives confirmed at a press conference Thursday that there is no chance the Utah capital would be asked to host in 2030 instead.
For the cauldron lighting the bid team donned new swag marked with the words “Salt Lake City Utah – Aspiring to Host The Olympic and Paralympic Games 2034.”
The board was briefed on expectations from targeted dialogue that include the completion of bid files and agreements to be reviewed by the IOC. Stakeholders will be further engaged and preparations will be made to form an organizing committee after the final vote.
The IOC’s questionnaire response with details of the project is due February 28 and the guarantee file by March 31. The IOC FHC will conduct a site evaluation in April and the expectation is that Salt Lake City will be approved to appear on the final election ballot in June.
The final IOC membership election will take place either July 23 or 24 in Paris at the Session ahead of the Summer Games.
July 24 will be Pioneer Day in Utah, a state holiday, allowing for the possibility of bigger celebrations.
