The long wait for Salt Lake City in its bid to host its second Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2034 could be over by next July, and it’s likely good news for Utah’s capital, the only bidder in the race.
At the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) annual all members Session being held in Mumbai, India this week, it was informally agreed by a show of hands to award both the 2030 and 2034 edition of the Games in Paris at the Session ahead of the Olympics next year.
The proposal was first announced Friday by IOC President Thomas Bach after his Executive Board agreed to explore that option along with others as means to adapt to climate change that threatens the future of the Winter Games.
In his presentation to members Sunday, the IOC Future Host Commission for the Winter Games chair Karl Stoss said Salt Lake City was the only interested party involved in discussions to host in 2034 and confirmed that the U.S. city has secured all necessary guarantees should it host in 2034, or 2030.
The Commission is expected to recommend preferred candidates for both editions of the Games to the Executive Board (EB) in November allowing the EB to approve one or more for targeted dialogue leading to the elections. The EB meets November 28 to December 1 in Paris.
That leaves little time for any new interested parties to enter discussions with the IOC that have been ongoing for years.
Stoss laid out a timeline for preferred candidates that requires them to submit a bid dossier by the end of February and signed guarantees by the end of March. Salt Lake City officials have already prepared these and could offer them to the IOC today.
Bids from Sweden, Switzerland and France are confirmed to be in discussions to host in 2030, Stoss said.
Those bids, and Salt Lake City might have to make some revisions to their plans as IOC officials consider fine tuning Games delivery methods aimed to cut costs and improve efficiency.
Stoss said Olympic events have been more expensive to stage then their World Championships counterparts and he proposed that future Winter Games base their delivery on those models. Organizing committees would adopt similar service levels and budgets by having the events delivered by the experience International Federations, National Federations and other local entities in a decentralized model.
Changes to those plans could be made by the preferred candidates up until the end of February.
Stoss further discussed strategies for a future rotation of climate and venue capable Winter Games hosts. As few as 10 national Olympic committees may qualify to host both Olympic and Paralympic editions by 2040 due to warming, and the Games are at risk. The cost cutting measures and the potential to stage events across borders could allow smaller nations participate in hosting.
Salt Lake City was nominated by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) in December 2018 as the nations next Winter Games host. Bid officials had hoped to host in 2030 but the USOPC opted to target 2034 in order to build space following the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Games, increasing revenue potential for both events.
