Salt Lake City to host 2034 Winter Games, while French Alps get tentative 2030 nod

PARIS — The Winter Olympic Games will make a return visit to Salt Lake City in 2034, while the 2030 Games have tentatively been set for the French Alps, officials said Wednesday.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and other organizing officials were in Paris this week, meeting with International Olympic Committee members and shoring up support for their bid to bring the Winter Games back to its 2002 site.

Salt Lake City had appeared to be a 2034 shoo-in for weeks, but late concerns came from the IOC about U.S. authorities’ possibly not supporting the embattled World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA.

U.S. lawmakers had launched an investigation into allegations of doping by Chinese swimmers ahead of the Tokyo Games, perhaps undermining WADA’s authority.

Stream every moment and every medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Peacock, starting with the opening ceremony at 12 p.m. ET Friday.

“The last 10 days of my life were totally unexpected,” Fraser Bullock, head of the Salt Lake City bid, told NBC affiliate KSL minutes after the vote for Salt Lake City. “We were just cruising towards the final award, and then this came up and we had to address it.”

But Bullock said that with an 83-6 vote for Salt Lake City to host, he believes the IOC has total confidence in 2034 organizers.

“We believe that we can make a few adjustments that will help the U.S. and world anti-doping community come together and not have disagreements,” he said. “We actually believe this will be constructive.”

U.S. gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn said she hopes a little boy or girl heard Wednesday’s news and aims to reach Salt Lake City just like she did in 2002, when she made the first of four Olympic appearances.

“I remember this exact moment when Salt Lake City got the Olympics in 2002, and that’s what I dreamed of,” Vonn, who is in charge of athlete experience for the Salt Lake City bid, told NBC’s “TODAY” show.

“I dreamed of being in Salt Lake, and I achieved that dream. I know today there are so many children and kids watching TV right now, getting excited and dreaming of racing in 2034,” she said.

Each venue for 2034 already exists or will be built for temporary use, not saddling local taxpayers with ongoing costs or underused facilities, Bullock said.