Organizers putting 4-year chill on Salt Lake City getting Olympics again

Utah officials are considering a bid to host the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which was the site for the 2002 Olympics. | Photo courtesy of Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation St. George News

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Recent meetings with the IOC have led U.S. officials to believe all signs point toward Salt Lake City bidding for the Winter Olympics four years later in 2034, though they say Utah’s capital will be ready if asked to host the 2030 Games.

In a file photo, Salt Lake City Council Chairwoman Erin Mendenhall, from left, Fraser Bullock, chief operating officer of the 2002 Winter Games, Jeff Robbins, president and CEO of the Utah Sports Commission, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski, Gov. Gary Herbert, USA Olympic speed skater Catherine Rainey-Norman and Salt Lake County Councilman Jim Bradley raise their arms in celebration after the USOC choose Salt Lake over Denver to bid on behalf of the U.S. for future Winter Games, Salt Lake City, Utah, Dec. 14, 2018 | Photo by Steve Griffin/The Deseret News/Associated Press, St. George News

U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee chair Susanne Lyons said she views Salt Lake City as the leading candidate for the 2034 Olympics. She added the complexities of hosting 2030 only two years after the Summer Games in Los Angeles make that a less-likely scenario.

“We will figure this out, but if we have a preference, it would be better for us to do 2034,” Lyons said in an interview with The Associated Press. “So I think in Salt Lake, the bid committee is realizing that we are in an absolutely fantastic position for 2034 but we may still be called upon for 2030.”

The LA organizing committee takes over marketing duties for the entire U.S. Olympic movement in the lead-up to hosting the Games, so reworking some of the arrangements to account for back-to-back Olympics in the same country would be tricky.

Lyons said some IOC members were frustrated with criticism of China by American lawmakers in the leadup to this year’s Beijing Games. Some of those lawmakers pointed to alleged human-rights abuses in China in calling on the U.S. to boycott those games. The U.S. did impose a “diplomatic boycott” of the Games, refusing to send any government officials to the Games.

Congress later held hearings on the issue.

“Calling in our sponsors to hearings in Washington D.C., was absolutely not helpful, and there are some hard feelings about that,” Lyons said.

Still, Lyons said IOC officials told her they know Salt Lake City, which hosted in 2002, could step into the role in 2030.

“They said the bid was, technically, very tight,” she said.

More clarity is expected to come later this year, with a large part of the decision based on what other cities step in. Sapporo, Japan, and Vancouver, Canada are among those known to have interest in 2030. Barcelona, Spain, organizers announced this week that they have pulled out of the bidding for 2030.

Written by EDDIE PELLS, Associated Press.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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