SALT LAKE CITY — With cities in seven countries now officially in the running for the 2026 Winter Games, backers of another Olympics for Salt Lake City are continuing to participate in the bid process in the hopes of hosting again in 2030.
The Deseret News reports Tuesday’s announcement by the International Olympic Committee listing the cities that have signed up to be considered candidates for 2026, a decision that will be made in October, also refers to the U.S. Olympic Committee’s interest in 2030.
In the running for 2026 are Graz, Austria; Calgary, Canada; Cortina d’Ampezzo, Milan and Turin, Italy; Sapporo, Japan; Stockholm, Sweden; Sion, Switzerland; and Erzurum, Turkey.
But the IOC did not mention Salt Lake City or the other two American cities looking at bidding for the 2030 Winter Games, Denver and the Reno-Tahoe area, by name during the announcement.
That’s not stopping Fraser Bullock, former chief operating officer of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and a leader of the effort to land another Olympics, from making the rounds.
“It’s informal,” Bullock said of his volunteer lobbying efforts, which include a five-day trip to Bangkok, Thailand, later this month to attend the annual SportAccord Convention that brings together Olympic sport officials from around the world.
Bullock said until it’s clear when the IOC will choose the host city for the 2030 Winter Games, he and other supporters of another Olympics in Salt Lake City will keep up the campaign.