« These venues carry on the prolific 2002 legacy that continues to benefit the state of Utah and its people today, » Bullock said.
Hundreds of Utahans watched the announcement on big screen TVs at Washington Square Park and broke into wild cheers when the vote and announcement was made before dawn at 4:22 a.m. MDT.
A cauldron was lit at Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah to mark the games’ return.
« It’s a once in a generation opportunity, » said Visit Salt Lake President and CEO Kaitlin Eskelson. « It’s just a very exciting time and it’s going to catapult us into that global stage. »
This will mark the fifth time it’s been held on American soil. The United States previously rolled out a winter red carpet in Lake Placid (1932 and 1980) and Squaw Valley (1960) in addition to Salt Lake City (2002 and 2034).
The IOC made a conditional award to France, pending additional financial guarantees from organizers, officials said.
If France gets the games, it would be the fourth time it has hosted the Winter Olympics, following Chamonix in 1924, Grenoble in 1968 and Albertville in 1992.
Not including the Summer Olympics, which get underway in Paris this week, the sites and dates for the next five sets of games are now largely set.
- The Winter Games of 2026 are scheduled for Italy, near Milan, between Feb. 6-22.
- Los Angeles will host the Summer Games of 2028 from July 14-30. Los Angeles previously hosted the 1932 and 1984 Olympics, joining Paris and London as the only cities to host three.
- The 2030 games appear to be headed to the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regions from Feb. 8-24 that year.
- The games go back Down Under in the summer of 2032 as Brisbane welcomes the Olympics from July 23 to Aug. 8.
- Salt Lake City is set to get its second shot at winter glory in 2034, from Feb. 10-26.
The naming of Salt Lake City and French Alps as the next two winter sites had been in the works for months, with only moderate concerns rooted in France’s snap elections.
But worries about the 2030 bid appeared to be allayed when centrist French President Emmanuel Macron and leftist parties staved off a far–right challenge.
Madelyn Urabe contributed.
