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Utah Olympic organizers moving forward on next Winter Games bid
Oct 5, 2021, 3:41 PM | Updated: 5:08 pm
Fraser Bullock, who served as chief operating officer for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics, holds one of that year’s Olympic torches while he poses for a photograph at his home in Alpine on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — Organizers hoping to bring another Winter Olympic Games back to Utah said the process is moving forward with new excitement and energy.
The eyes of the world were on Team USA in Tokyo this past year. But Salt Lake City Committee for the Games CEO Fraser Bullock said committee members will meet in Europe in November with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
In December 2018, the US Olympic Committee chose Salt Lake City to bid for the US for a future winter Olympics.
The Deseret News reports that the trip at the end of November to meet with the IOC will be the first time that the delegation travels as America’s choice to host a future Winter Games.
Screen shot of Zoom meeting, Oct. 5, 2021. (Zoom)
“We appreciate greatly the IOC working us in during this busy time for them, but recognize that Beijing is their priority at this point and time,” Bullock said.
Is Utah ready to host again?
The Salt Lake City Committee for the Games said the state, as well as the committee’s bid, are both in “great shape.”
“And we try to enhance our bid readiness every day, so we are ready to go and ready to be in the arena immediately,” Bullock said.
Screen shot of Zoom meeting, Oct. 5, 2021. (Zoom)
The venues Utah built for 2002 Winter Games have been in use regularly since the Olympic flame went out at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the campus of the University of Utah. In those 19 years, Utah has hosted World Cups and other competitions and has offered the venues as training space to athletes from the US and across the world.
Bullock said the committee is willing to shoot for either the 2030 or 2034 Winter Games. But Los Angeles has already been chosen to host the Summer Games in 2028. He said sometimes a country isn’t allowed to host back-to-back Games.
More positives for another successful Utah bid include community support, enough hotel rooms and a new airport.
