Salt Lake City — From a towering Olympic cauldron overlooking the Salt Lake Valley to an Olympic logo on downtown manhole covers, Utah's capital city is full of 2002 Winter Olympics memories. Visitors leaving the airport are met with a must-see Olympic arch amid snow-capped mountains, a message crucial to Salt Lake City's campaign to host again: You enter an Olympic city.
Even while many prior hosts have decided bringing back the Games isn't worth the time, money, or inconvenience, Salt Lake City still has Olympic fever. That lasting enthusiasm will be on full show Wednesday when IOC members visit northern Utah for their final site visits before announcing Salt Lake City as the 2034 host in July.
Since Salt Lake City initially welcomed the world's top winter athletes to its adjacent slopes over two decades ago, the host pool has decreased drastically. The sporting event is a money hole, and climate change has reduced the number of winter competition places. Utah has invested millions to maintain its Olympic buildings and keep locals nostalgic about the Games.
Salt Lake City has recovered from a bribery scandal that nearly wrecked the 2002 Winter Olympics. As its alternatives shrink, the Olympic organization is increasingly dependent on enthusiastic communities. If Olympic organizers create a permanent host city rotation, the city is a top candidate.
After numerous European bid cities dropped out due to financial, political, and public concerns, the Olympic committee was left with Beijing, China, and Almaty, Kazakhstan. “The International Olympic Committee needs Salt Lake City a lot more than Salt Lake City needs the IOC, or the Olympics,” said Pacific University sports and politics professor Jules Boykoff.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wants to become North America's winter sports capital by winning the Olympics. Cox has continued state leaders' long-running push to attract professional sports leagues and international events like last year's NBA All-Star Game to boost Utah's sports and tourism image and reduce its image as a bizarre, hyper-religious place.
Over half of the state's 3.4 million citizens and most state leaders are Mormons. Southern Utah University history professor Dave Lunt said the Olympics allow adherents of that faith and other communities to clear up misconceptions and share their principles with the world.
“Latter-day Saints want approval. No offense, that's my neighborhood, but we want to show we're good Americans, he continued. “We’re happy to host the party at home.” The 2002 Winter Olympics, one of the most successful ever, revitalized the region's prestige, boosting prosperity. Salt Lake City had a light-rail system and world-class athletic facilities thanks to state and federal investment before its first Olympics.
Utah leaders are one step nearer from finalizing a bid based on the idea that using much of the same venues as in 2002 will cut money. At a March press conference, Cox promised that if every country had our infrastructure, they would regard it as a smart investment. He also hailed public support for the effort.
Being one of the few towns remaining willing and able to host the Winter Games provides Salt Lake City power with the Olympic committee over operational funding, timetables, and even which sports are included, Boykoff said. The Olympic committee has a stake in choosing a U.S. city in a better time zone for live broadcasts to attract NBC and other U.S. media giants since NBC's multibillion-dollar contract expires in 2032, two years before Utah hosts.
Olympic historian David Wallechinsky said the Olympic committee has been presenting bids earlier and evaluating possible hosts more closely to assure readiness. Public backing may make or break a bid, he added. Salt Lake City did not organize a formal vote for locals to decide if they wanted another Games, even though local bid leaders believe their polling shows more than 80% statewide acceptance.
Reminders of the 2002 Winter Games remind locals that the Olympics are part of their city and a source of pride. After hosting their first Olympics, Utah leaders developed a long-term strategy to sustain local support for future hosting. However, Olympic historians warn that enthusiasm can blind locals to gentrification, corruption, rising taxes, and hollow environmental pledges in past host towns.
Currently, Utah has no opposition. Lunt added, “If we consider the Olympics a cultural institution, maybe it’s worth paying some money if the people of Utah decide that’s important to us, collectively.”
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