Featured image: Olympic Flag. Credit: GEPA

It’s official! Yesterday, Salt Lake City, Utah, was confirmed as the 2034 Olympic Games host. The last time Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympic Games was in 2002, so excitement ignited when the vote was won 83-6. 

Lindsey Vonn stated on the Today Show, “We are just thrilled, I mean, this has been a lot of work. A lot of the bid committee members have been working for over ten years. I have been a part of this process for over three years.”

Lindsey Vonn made her Olympic debut at just 17 years old during the Salt Lake City Games in 2002. Her experience inspired her to strive for bringing the Games back to the U.S., and she knows that this will excite younger athletes to pursue their dreams of competing on the Olympic stage.

She reiterated, “We are so thrilled to have the Olympics back in the U.S.!”

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During the presentation to the International Olympic Committee, Fraser Bullock, the president and CEO of Salt Lake City, Utah, stated, “We are ready. Everything is in place.” 

He continued to explain how the existing venues in Salt Lake City give the area a foot forward and outlined where they are planning for temporary venues and the Olympic Village. 

Different expensive variables, including construction, infrastructure improvements, security costs, and climate change, have all played a role in the struggle to find places that will host the Olympic Games. 

The bid has maintained an 80% public approval rating since it was initially evaluated. Nevertheless, the United States is currently facing criticism for its independent inquiry into a doping scandal involving Chinese swimmers.

Nevertheless, Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah, aimed to secure the bid in order to become “the winter capital of North America.” 

This decision comes just two days before the opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games, scheduled for Friday July, 26th.