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Utah Olympic committee has met all IOC requirements, now focusing on community engagement

Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games members at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games
Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games members at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games is continuing to work toward securing either the 2030 or 2034 Winter Olympics. The bid process has entered a new phase.

Utah could know less than one year from now if it will play host to the Winter Olympics for a second time. The International Olympic Committee is expected to announce the host of the 2030 Games next June.

The Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games is currently in Switzerland to meet with International Olympic Committee officials as the bid process for 2030 continues.

Utah is competing with Vancouver, Canada, Sapporo, Japan, and Barcelona, Spain to be the 2030 host.

Utah committee CEO Fraser Bullock said that Utah has now completed all necessary requirements for a bid with the IOC. He said IOC officials told the Utah delegation this week that they have been impressed with Utah’s candidacy so far, but would like to see more work done in areas like sustainability before making a final decision. Bullock said that work will be part of the next phase of the process.

“That is all once the targeted dialogue is officially entered, which we anticipate, if we’re fortunate to be selected, would be toward the end of this year," he said. "But at this point, we’ve satisfied all the requirements.”

The IOC is expected to choose its preferred host candidates in November.

Bullock said until then, the committee will engage with communities throughout Utah about what hosting another Olympics could look like.

Park City Mayor Nann Worel is co-chair of the Host Venue Communities Committee and told KPCW this month that she expects to open a dialogue with the community and regional partners like Summit and Wasatch Counties later this summer.

Parkite and Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn also joined the delegation in Switzerland. Vonn retired from competition in 2019 as the winningest female alpine skier in history and joined the bid committee as a member of the governing board last year.

Bullock also announced that Vonn has become the chair of athlete experience for the Utah bid. Vonn said it will be her priority to make a future Utah Olympics as stress-free as possible for both athletes and families in the stands.

“I have a rather large family, and we’ve experienced some difficulties in getting them to a lot of the Olympic venues," said Vonn. "I really hope to work together with Fraser and the rest of the committee to make sure that the experience for both athletes and families is one of a kind.”

The 2023 IOC general session is scheduled for late May and early June in Mumbai, India. If Utah is not selected as host of the 2030 Games, the committee will then focus on securing the 2034 Olympics.

Sean Higgins covers all things Park City and is the Saturday Weekend Edition host at KPCW. Sean spent the first five years of his journalism career covering World Cup skiing for Ski Racing Media here in Utah and served as Senior Editor until January 2020. As Senior Editor, he managed the day-to-day news section of skiracing.com, as well as produced and hosted Ski Racing’s weekly podcast. During his tenure with Ski Racing Media, he was also a field reporter for NBC Sports, covering events in Europe.