Photo by Francisco Kjolseth
Salt Lake City-Utah selected as the host of the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah | July 24, 2024 — In these early hours of Pioneer Day, the International Olympic Committee held the vote in Paris to officially select Salt Lake City-Utah as the host of the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. As The State of Sport and our community celebrates at Washington Square, the Utah Sports Commission reflects on the decades-long journey to arrive at this historic full circle moment.
Established in 2000 right before the 2002 Games, the Utah Sports Commission was founded with Governor Leavitt’s support to be a catalyst for Utah’s sport and Olympic legacy. Partnering on hosting nearly 1,100 sports events statewide, including Olympic, Paralympic, international, national, professional, and amateur. The Sports Commission’s fundamental mission has held steady: to position Utah as The State of Sport by utilizing facilities built for the 2002 Winter Games and other world-class venues to drive economic impact, enhance Utah’s global image, and put a strategy in place to attract a future Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“Our strategy remained steadfast for over 20 years,” said Utah Sports Commission President & CEO Jeff Robbins. “Utah has stayed ready, willing, and able to host another Winter Games and the time has finally come as we welcome the world back to Utah for the 2034 Olympics and Paralympics.”
The road for a future Winter Games formally began in February 2012 when then-Utah Governor Gary Herbert and Utah Sports Commission President & CEO Jeff Robbins, along with other community, sports and public leaders, formed an exploratory committee to consider a future bid. The current Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games was created in February 2020.
As the decade continued, Utah’s bid strengthened. In December 2018, Salt Lake City-Utah was selected as America’s Choice by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Then in November 2023, Utah was named as Preferred Host by the International Olympic Committee.
Parallel to the sport and Olympic legacy efforts, the Utah Sports Commission with its many partners carried on the quest to bring high-level sporting events and keep Utah on the world’s radar, from 2011 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships and 2019 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships to 2022 IRONMAN World Championship, 2023 NBA All-Star Game, UFC 278/291, and many others.
Since the 2002 Winter Games, US Speedskating, USA Climbing, and U.S. Biathlon all joined U.S. Ski & Snowboard in calling Utah home and building on to Utah’s Olympic and Paralympic legacy. The world-class facilities that were built for the Games now serve as the Designated Official U.S. Olympic Training Sites for current and future Olympians and Paralympians.
Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games left a lasting impact on The State of Sport and rooted itself into the fabric of Utah and the Utah Sports Commission’s identity. Now, the state of Utah gets a chance to host the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and witness firsthand the influence these games will have on the upcoming decades. The future of Utah’s sports and entertainment industry is incredibly bright.