PARIS
AP
—
Salt Lake City will be an Olympics host again after the IOC formally awarded the 2034 Winter Games to the United States bid on Wednesday.
The capital city of Utah was the only candidate since the International Olympic Committee gave Salt Lake City exclusive negotiating rights last year in the process that was fast-tracked for 2034 and led to US being awarded the games.
The campaign team presenting the bid on stage to IOC members included the Governor of Utah Spencer Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Alpine ski great Lindsey Vonn. Back home, a 3 a.m. public watch party gathered to see a broadcast from Paris.
Salt Lake City’s final approval in a vote by those members will bring back the Winter Games 32 years after first hosting in 2002.
Climate change and high operational costs have reduced the number of cities willing and able to welcome the Winter Games. Utah capitalized on low interest elsewhere, pitching itself to Olympic officials as an enthusiastic repeat host if the committee goes forward with a proposed permanent rotation of Winter Olympic cities. Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi has said Salt Lake City would be a prime candidate for such a plan.
Local leaders had their sights set on hosting multiple times even before Salt Lake City welcomed its first Games, bid team spokesperson Tom Kelly said. Remnants of the 2002 Games are nestled throughout the city and have kept the Olympic fever alive for more than two decades. Organizers of the 2034 Games touted that enduring enthusiasm throughout the selection process and showed visiting Olympic officials how they’ve preserved the venues used in 2002.
In its final presentation to the Olympic committee Wednesday morning, the bid team was expected to outline its plan for one of the most compact layouts in Olympic history, with all venues within a one-hour drive of the athletes village on the University of Utah campus. The plan requires no new permanent construction, with all 13 venues already in place and each having played a role when the city first hosted.
For Cox, securing the bid was central to his goal of cementing the state as North America’s winter sports capital. He and other local leaders traveled to Paris for the bid presentation, while many winter Olympians stayed in town to train and join in the festivities.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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