Salt Lake City was formally awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics and Paralympics following a vote Wednesday by the , giving Utah its second Games after hosting in 2002.
About a thousand sports fans gathered in downtown Salt Lake City at 3 a.m. local time 含羞草研究社� 11 a.m. in Paris 含羞草研究社� to watch the long-anticipated announcement on a livestream. Some dressed in ski gear in the summer heat, while others donned Team USA merchandise and waved flags with the Olympic rings. The crowd erupted in cheers as Olympic officials made their final decision to return to a city where they said the local enthusiasm was palpable even two decades after it first hosted.
Utah含羞草研究社檚 capital city was the only candidate for 2034 after the Olympic committee last year. and high operational costs have reduced the number of cities willing and able to welcome the Winter Games.
Utah has capitalized on low interest elsewhere, pitching itself to Olympic officials as an eager repeat host if the committee eventually adopts a permanent rotation of Winter Olympic cities. Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi said Salt Lake City would be a prime candidate for such a plan.
Local leaders had their sights set on hosting multiple times even before Salt Lake City welcomed its first Games, bid team spokesperson Tom Kelly said. Remnants of the 2002 Games are nestled throughout the city and have kept the Olympic fever alive. Organizers of the 2034 Games throughout the selection process and showed visiting Olympic officials how they have preserved nearly all the venues used in 2002.
含羞草研究社淓nthusiasm for the Games was always our feeling, on the first minute to the last minute, in every interaction we had, both at the venues and in our meetings with athletes, sports leaders, politicians and the private sector,含羞草研究社� Karl Stoss, chairman of the International Olympic Committee含羞草研究社檚 Future Host Commission, told the full committee Wednesday morning in Paris.
Darrell Robinson of Herriman, Utah, celebrated with his family in the early hours Wednesday after his daughter, who was too young to remember Utah含羞草研究社檚 first Olympics, begged him to join her at the Salt Lake watch party. Robinson also was present when it was announced that the city would host the 2002 Games, and he said it was amazing to relive that moment.
The 2002 Games closely followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and provided a unifying atmosphere that Robinson said was needed at the time.
含羞草研究社淓veryone was really united, and we were able to invite all these countries and just heal,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淭hat含羞草研究社檚 something we need again.含羞草研究社�
Wednesday含羞草研究社檚 local party coincided with a state holiday marking the date Mormon pioneers discovered the Salt Lake Valley in northern Utah. A drone show lit up the sky over City Hall, and parade floats lined the streets, merging the two celebrations into one.
In its final presentation to Olympic officials, the Utah bid team outlined its plan for one of the most compact layouts in Olympic history, with all venues within a one-hour drive of the athletes village on the University of Utah campus. The plan requires no new permanent construction, with all already in place and each having played a role when the city first hosted.
What was expected to be a simple coronation turned into a complicated political negotiation in which the Olympic committee strong-armed Utah leaders into helping them lobby the U.S. government to end an FBI investigation into a suspected doping coverup.
Before the vote, Olympic officials a clause effectively demanding that local organizers, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, push to shut down the probe or risk losing the Games. Cox agreed to the committee含羞草研究社檚 demands and celebrated the final decision, but he said after the vote that the shakeup nearly delayed the bid agreement.
Securing the bid was central to Cox含羞草研究社檚 goal of cementing the state as North America含羞草研究社檚 winter sports capital. He and other local leaders were in Paris for the presentation, while many winter Olympians stayed in town to train and join in the festivities.
American freestyle skier Christopher Lillis, a gold medalist at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, said the 2034 Games will be a dream come true for young people with Olympic aspirations. He has been training at nearby Utah Olympic Park and said the sports facilities in the area are 含羞草研究社渢op notch.含羞草研究社�
Kate Cross, the mother of a young girl who described herself as a 含羞草研究社渇uture gold medalist skier,含羞草研究社� said the Olympics are the ultimate source of inspiration. Cross moved to Utah a few years after the 2002 Games and is excited to attend Olympic events in person for the first time 含羞草研究社� possibly as the parent of an athlete.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檙e out here in the middle of the night because she含羞草研究社檚 too excited to sleep,含羞草研究社� Cross said. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 given her something to strive for, a 10-year plan. As a parent, it含羞草研究社檚 amazing to see your kid that motivated.含羞草研究社�
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