SLC Olympic committee meets with IOC’s Future Host Commission
Nov 21, 2023, 7:39 AM | Updated: 7:42 am
SALT LAKE CITY — Tuesday could mark a big day in the efforts to bring the Olympics back to Utah as Salt Lake’s committee meets with the International Olympic Committee to prove Utah has everything in place to get the bid.
It has been five years since their very first meeting. All of it has been in preparation for Tuesday morning’s big meeting, where it all comes together.
“I am not nervous at all,” said Fraser Bullock, president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games.
Bullock feels this way because he knows his team is more than ready to convince the International Olympic Committee’s Future Host Commission to bring the Olympics and Paralympics back to Salt Lake City and Utah.
“I look at it as it is more the opportunity to express to the IOC all the wonderful things we have to offer,” Bullock said.
Among the things a Salt Lake City bid has to offer include venues, volunteers, support and a plan Bullock feels will impress anyone who listens.
“We have got all of our government guarantees in place which is really critical,” he said. “We have signed up our venues, we have signed up our hotel rooms, and we have got all the pieces in place that aren’t required until way down the road. But when they look at us, they can count on us, and they say we know Salt Lake City, Utah, is ready.”
All the preparation Salt Lake City’s committee has done over the past five years is also why the IOC is considering awarding the 2030 and 2034 Winter Olympics and Paralympics at the same time.
It is no secret Salt Lake City wants the 2034 Games and feels it has made a compelling reason for the IOC to award both at the same time this coming summer, much like the IOC awarded the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics to Paris and Los Angeles at the same time.
“Our strategy has always sort of been to be ahead of the process,” said Catherine Raney-Norman, a four-time Olympian who competed in the 2002 Salt Lake Games. She is also the chair of Salt Lake’s Committee and has been on the team since the beginning.
Raney-Norman feels the team is about as ready to present to the IOC on Tuesday morning as any bid city ever has.
“We have put in a lot of work into this presentation to get us to this point and so it is a pretty important milestone for us,” she said.
Tuesday morning’s meeting with the IOC is being held virtually and will also include Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Olympian Lindsey Vonn.
There is no doubt the Salt Lake City committee knows the meeting is important. However, the committee also knows how important it is for the IOC to choose a candidate that can get it done.
“The IOC is looking for somebody that they can absolutely count on to deliver exceptional Games, and that is what Utah offers,” Bullock said. “The only question is will they award both 2030 and 2034 at the same time.”
If all goes well on Tuesday, Salt Lake City’s bid then goes to the International Olympic Committee’s executive board.
That board is expected to advance a city bid to the full IOC in late November.
The full IOC could then decide to award an Olympic bid at any time after that, but a decision is expected just before the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, which is in late July.
