With about 10 years to go until the opening of the 2034 Olympic Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) preferred and only candidate for the event – Salt Lake City – officially submitted its completed application file Thursday.
The file was approved by the SLC-UT governing board on February 22.
“It’s a monumental step,” CEO of the Salt Lake City – Utah Committee for the Games (SLC-UT) Fraser Bullock said Thursday ahead of the official bid submission ceremony held in the Utah State Capitol with Governor Spencer Cox and Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
The hefty main file contains two maps, 14 tables and 30,947 words in the English language version. The detailed annex includes six maps, 18 studies and reports, 26 site plans, 52 spreadsheets on 343 pages.
United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) chair Gene Sykes joined the ceremony that also featured young athletes who could be on target to compete in 2034.
He said IOC officials have told him that they are “…not only satisfied, but thrilled to have a partnership with [the SLC-UT] team.”
Federal, state and local government guarantees are due into the IOC by March 29 and SLC-UT has already prepared to send a file with one law, 73 guarantee letters and 203 contracts for venue use, accommodations and marketing rights on 4,545 pages.
American IOC member and former IOC Vice President Anita DeFrantz offered her congratulations at the event but cautioned that there is still more work ahead.
“It’s not quite a done deal” DeFrantz warned, adding that she has confidence that the bid will win the required votes at the end.
It’s official – we just submitted our bid to host the 2034 Winter Olympic and Paralympic games to the International Olympics Committee.
Thank you to everyone who worked hard to get us to this point. Utah is the state of sport and we look forward to bringing the Olympics back to… pic.twitter.com/fSBpwGxt6z
— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) February 29, 2024
Completed candidate documents were due to be submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thursday from both Salt Lake City and a bid for the 2030 edition from the French Alps. Both applications were selected as preferred candidates by the IOC’s Executive Board last November, and the remaining steps are considered due diligence ahead of a rubberstamping approval in July.
The IOC’s Future Host Commission team including eight members and experts will conduct site evaluations in Utah from April 9 to 13. The IOC’s Executive Board will deliberate and likely recommend the bid to its full membership during its quarterly board meeting from June 12-14.
If recommended, the SLC-UT bid will have the opportunity to present to the entire voting IOC membership in the latter half of June.
The final presentation and IOC membership election is expected take place July 24 in Paris, the final day of the IOC Session ahead of the Summer Games in the French Capital. Immediately following, the host contract will be signed.
A July 24 election was requested by SLC-UT as it will be Pioneer Day in Utah, a state holiday, allowing for the possibility of bigger celebrations for Salt Lake City.
