Melanie Goodfellow
The International Olympics Committee (IOC) has set the French Alps followed by Salt Lake City as the host locations for the Olympic and Paralympic winter games in 2030 and 2034 respectively.
IOC members voted on the bids during their 142nd IOC session in Paris ahead of the 2024 summer Olympics which kick off in the French capital on Friday.
The 2030 and 2034 tournaments will be preceded by the 2026 Cortina-Milan winter games in Italy, while the next edition of the summer Olympics will be in L.A. in 2028.
IOC President Thomas Bach alluded to Salt Lake City and Utah’s staging of the 2002 Winter Olympics as he announced the successful bid.
“Salt Lake City and Utah are long-time friends of the Olympic Movement, and we are confident that they will organise exceptional Olympic and Paralympic Games, just as they did years ago. The legacy of 2002 is tangibly and passionately alive in Utah. The legacy of 2034 starts today.”
The bid was approved with 83 ‘yes’ votes by IOC members to six ‘no’ votes.
The Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 delegation was led by Utah Governer Spencer Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) President Gene Sykes, and the President of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, Fraser Bullock.
“At its core, the Olympic Movement is about building community and celebrating excellence, things we do really well in Utah,” said Cox.
“More than 80 per cent of Utahns and 100 per cent of our elected leaders supported our Olympic bid. We’re ready to host another Olympic Winter Games, and we can’t wait to welcome the world back to Utah in 2034.”
The French bid for the 2030 edition received 84 ‘yes’ votes, four ‘no’ votes and there were seven abstentions.
There is a slight twist in its bid win in that all bids subject to the host country signing a Games Delivery Guarantee.
This is not currently possible in France which has an acting government in place as the broad left-wing alliance which won snap general elections in mid-July battles over who to make prime minister.
The Games Delivery Guarantee needs to be received by a French prime minister by 1 October 2024 and ratified by the French Parliament by 1 March 2025.
Bach seem unfazed by the administrative hiccup.
“We have full confidence in France to organise an outstanding edition of the Olympic Winter Games, with the same creativity, imagination and flair we are currently experiencing at Paris 2024,” he said.
The 142nd IOC Session also approved the initial sports program for the 2030 winter games which will feature seven sports: biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating and skiing.