4. Salt Lake City can finally pencil in 2034 for its second Winter Games
The bid has been in the works for almost 10 years and the IOC had all but assured Salt Lake City officials that they would host the city’s second Winter Games in the near future, but no year had been locked in until November.
At an IOC Executive Board Meeting November 29 officials confirmed a Winter Games double allocation that included French Alps for 2030 leaving the 2034 edition for Salt Lake City – the year the USOPC was shooting for in order to distance it from LA 28 and maximize revenue potential. Both projects must still pass due diligence and receive membership rubberstamping next July ahead of the Paris Olympics.
This story was big because… it wasn’t. It was perhaps the biggest forgone conclusion in Olympic bid history – we always knew what, just not when. And despite the edict of a journalist to not become part of the story, my suggestion to “bet the house on Salt Lake City” grabbed multiple headlines across Utah.
The announcement was certainly anticlimactic, and definitely a relief to the bid team who were finally able to mark their calendars and produce an accurate logo.
[Top Story #3 on page 9]
