Salt Lake City to host 2034 Winter Olympic Games

The University of Utah will play a critical role on the international stage in a decade

Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports

Salt Lake City was formally awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics following a Wednesday vote by the International Olympic Committee in Paris, which gives Utah its second Games after hosting in 2002.

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 the 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.

But its victory came only after a dramatic decision to revise the host-city contract that Salt Lake City and Utah officials had signed. That change would allow the International Olympic Committee to pull the Games if any effort were made to undermine the authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency, the global regulator of doping in sports.

The sudden adjustment came after several Olympic committee officials, while praising Salt Lake City’s bid before the vote in Paris, expressed anger at efforts by the U.S. authorities to investigate the actions of doping and swimming officials in the case of two dozen elite Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

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At the 142nd International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Paris, France, on July 24, 2024, Salt Lake City was selected as the host city for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

It marks the first time the U.S. has hosted a Winter Games since 2002—when Salt Lake City hosted its first Games.

Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 will mark the fifth time the Winter Olympics have been held in the U.S. The first three were in Lake Placid 1932, in Squaw Valley (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in 1960 and again in Lake Placid in 1980.

The French Alps bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics was also approved at the session.

Lake Placid 1980 was, of course, the setting for the famous “Miracle on Ice” men’s hockey game in which the U.S. team, composed of amateurs, defeated the Soviet Union and then went on to defeat Finland and win gold.

It’s currently unclear whether the 2034 men’s hockey team will include NHL players—their participation has been confirmed for the Milano-Cortina 2026 and newly announced French Alps 2030 Games. But Utah’s new NHL team, which will begin play during the 2024-24 season as the Utah Hockey Club, is sure to add to the anticipation for Olympic hockey in Salt Lake City.

Freestyle snowboarding and skiing will also be marquee attractions at Salt Lake City-Utah 2034. U.S. Ski & Snowboard is headquartered in Park City, Utah, which also boasts a team high performance training center.

“This feels like a full circle moment for me, remembering the magic of my first Olympics here in 2002,” said three-time Olympic medalist Lindsey Vonn, who is serving as Chair of Athlete Experience for the Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 bid committee. “Salt Lake City is such a special place, and I'm excited to share it with the world again.”

A majority of the facilities at the University of Utah will be used to house athletes and hold events similar to the Games from 22 years ago. In anticipation of hosting the Olympic Athletes Village, the campus will be expanded to accommodate over 5,500 people during the three weeks of events. Rice-Eccles Stadium was expanded for Opening and Closing Ceremonies. We'll see if that happens again.