Salt Lake City is poised to host the Winter Olympic Games in 2034 after International Olympic committee (IOC) officials had nothing but good things to say during a recent briefing about their scheduled visit to Utah in April. They reportedly stated that the already-announced preferred host “offers it all.”

Christophe Dubi, the IOC’s Olympic Games executive director spoke of the previous games of 2002 and how at the start of the media call about the Future Host Commission’s upcoming trip that will help determine if Utah’s bid advances to the final vote in July. 

“You know that punchline, ‘We’ll be back?’ That’s probably what we all thought in 2002 when leaving Salt Lake City. It was such a great experience for the entire Olympic family that many promised that the city…would host the Game again,” Dubi stated, adding that “we’re not there yet” but “we are progressing extremely well.”

Salt Lake City was named to preferred host status back in December after officials examined “existing venues and the continued expertise that has been developed over time across all of the Olympics sports,” according to the IOC. The Olympic venues that were used in 2002 have all been updated and used consistently to host world class events and trail the U.S. team over the course of the last 22 years. Downtown Salt Lake City and the area has also grown and developed in a big way in that time as local authorities are anxious for visitors to return. 

While SLC had bid to host either the 2030 or 2034 Games, they stated that they preferred the later date to avoid competing for sponsors with the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. The French Alps has a scheduled meeting with officials for their 2030 bid. 

The Summer Games are slated to take place in Paris, France later this year. The next Winter Games will take place in Milan-Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy in 2026.