Salt Lake City has been chosen as the host city for the 2034 Winter Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) formally awarded the games to the United States bid on Wednesday. This decision comes after the IOC took action to address concerns about suspected doping by Chinese swimmers, which was the subject of a U.S. federal investigation.
The sole contender for hosting the 2034 Olympic Games is the
capital city of Utah, as the International Olympic Committee granted Salt Lake
City exclusive negotiation rights last year in an expedited process.
The bid presentation to the IOC members was conducted by a
delegation comprising the Governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, the Mayor of Salt Lake
City, Erin Mendenhall, and the renowned Alpine skier, Lindsey Vonn.
Simultaneously, a public watch party was organized in the city, commencing at 3
a.m. to witness the live broadcast from Paris.
Prior to the vote, Governor Cox acceded to the pledges
stipulated by the IOC leadership. Consequently, the Olympic officials
incorporated a clause into the host city contract, mandating local authorities
to collaborate with the current and future U.S. presidents, as well as members
of Congress, to address concerns pertaining to the ongoing federal
investigations into doping allegations.
The planned coronation of Salt Lake City as the host of the
upcoming Winter Olympics has become entangled in a complex situation involving
the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the ongoing investigation by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into the World Anti-Doping Agency’s
(WADA) decision to accept China’s explanations for positive drug tests of 23
swimmers prior to the Tokyo Olympics.
The IOC has secured promises from United States Olympic
officials and the Utah contingent to accept a new clause that grants the
Olympic body the authority to terminate Salt Lake City’s hosting agreement
should the integrity and authority of WADA be undermined.
The IOC's decision to bring back the Winter Games to Salt
Lake City 32 years after its first hosting in 2002 was met with an 83-6 vote by
IOC members. This move seemed to convey a message that the FBI should step back
from the Chinese swimmers' case, which can be investigated in the U.S. under
federal legislation named for a whistleblower of Russian state doping at the
2014 Sochi Winter Games.
Gov. Cox stated, "We will work with our members of
Congress and use all the levers of power available to us to resolve these
concerns," ahead of the 2034 vote.
The 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City were held under tight
security, marking the biggest international sports event hosted by the U.S.
following the Sept. 11 attacks five months earlier.
The 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games are well-known in
Olympic history due to the bid bribery scandal that surfaced in 1998, involving
IOC members seeking and receiving favors from campaign officials. This led to
comprehensive anti-corruption reforms within the IOC.
For its second hosting opportunity, Salt Lake City will have
an extended preparation period of almost 10 years, marking the longest lead-in
for a contemporary Winter Games. However, there are long-term concerns
regarding the impact of climate change on snow sports and the potential
reduction in suitable host locations.
Salt Lake City strategically chose to aim for 2034, thereby
avoiding potential commercial and logistical conflicts with the 2028 Summer
Games hosted by Los Angeles.
Separately, in a prior decision made in Paris, the 2030
Winter Games were conditionally awarded to France for a regional project
involving ski resorts in the Alps and the French Riviera city of Nice.
However, this project requires formal approval from the
newly forming national government, as the Prime Minister has yet to be
confirmed following recent elections called by President Emmanuel Macron.
Notably, President Macron actively participated in presenting the 2030 bid to
IOC members on Wednesday.