Salt Lake City selected for 2030 Winter Olympics bid
Salt Lake City has been selected by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) for a potential bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2030.
The USOC board of directors has expressed interest in bidding for future Winter Games but has not determined when a formal bid might be submitted, the USOC said in a statement on Friday.
Salt Lake City, which hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics, was preferred to the Colorado city of Denver.
“We are truly humbled and honoured to be the USOC’s choice to bid for a future Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski.
USOC chief Larry Probst said Salt Lake City gave the U.S. the best chance to bring the Winter Olympics to the country for the fifth time.
Chief executive officer Sarah Hirshland, in a conference call following the executive board meeting, said the decision to identify Salt Lake as the candidate city would give any bid the best chance of success.
“It’s worth noting there is no 2030 bid process open with the IOC at this stage but work we will do is to continue to refine the possibility, refine the plan for a possible bid but at this point there is no determination, nor is there an active process for bidding that will take place,” she said.
“So we have the luxury of some time to ensure with have a very thoughtful plan and collaborative approach.
“There is incredible support from the community at large,” she added of Utah’s most populous city. “They have some very unique advantages and certainly the venues and the existence of those venues and the proximity of those venues is one of those advantages.”
U.S. Ski & Snowboard welcomed the decision.
“The possibility of having a future Olympic Winter Games in the USA is incredibly exciting,” said chief executive Tiger Shaw.
“Colorado and Utah have created many of the world’s best athletes in our sports and both have been very supportive in hosting world class events.” REUTERS