The Olympic spirit was alive and well in Utah Tuesday night as several hundred people gathered at Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium for the lighting of the 2002 Olympic cauldron.
On February 8th, 2002, the world converged on Utah in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks for two weeks of the best winter athletes in the world competing for Olympic gold.
Speaking at Tuesday’s ceremony, Governor Spencer Cox said he wants Utah to rekindle that Olympic spirit again as the state readies for another Olympic bid in either 2030 or 2034.
“We’re also here to celebrate the future," said Cox. "We’re looking forward because we are bringing the Olympics back, and they will be here and we need your support to make that happen… We need that Olympic spirit. We need that spirit of giving back, that spirit of volunteerism. The world is desperate for it, we have it here in Utah and we need to show the world that we can do it again. Let’s keep that Olympic spirit alive, let’s light that flame and keep that flame burning until the Olympics come back in 2030.”
Late last year, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee officially committed to getting behind another Games in Utah. The decision now is whether to target a bid for either 2030 or 2034.
Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics, and President and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games Fraser Bullock said another Olympics in the U.S. only two years later presents a significant logistical challenge, but it is possible.
Bullock said the decision on whether to target 2030 or 2034 is out of his hands, but he expects the USOPC to make a decision soon. He added that he, Governor Cox, and other local officials have also begun an informal dialogue with the International Olympic Committee as the process moves forward.
“That’s a [U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee] decision, and that will probably come in the next, certainly within the next six months, in my opinion," he said. "The process is much more informal, the dialogue process, so we’re in the middle of that. We’re putting together our plans, we’re putting together our bid documents, so we’re on our way.”
The Olympic cauldron in Salt Lake City will be lit until February 12th.
On Tuesday, Feb. 15, the Summit County Council, the Park City Council and members of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation and Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games will meet jointly for an Olympic debrief. That will be streamed live and open to the public as well. It will include an overview of work in progress and how Park City is represented in conversations about future Games.
