Governor, Salt Lake City mayor headed to France to argue Utah’s case for hosting the Olympics

Fraser Bullock, president and CEO of the Utah Olympic organizing committee, speaks during an event in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. (Kyle Dunphey/Utah News Dispatch)

Who will host the 2034 Olympic games ? A group of high-profile athletes and elected officials are headed to France later this month to make the case for Utah.

On July 24, the International Olympic Committee, or IOC, will make its announcement from Paris — but first, it will hear a 30-minute presentation from Utah’s Olympic delegation .

“We’re so excited about that,” said Fraser Bullock, president and CEO of the organizing committee. “We’ll have a great representation from Utah there.”

Bullock spoke Tuesday to a room full of Olympians past, present and aspiring, staff with the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games and reporters.

The presentation will include seven people — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, President of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Gene Sykes, former Olympic speedskater and board chair of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games Catherine Raney Norman, Olympic champion and alpine skier Lindsey Vonn, Paralympic nordic skier Dani Aravich and Bullock.

A few high-profile elected officials from Utah will also be there, including Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton; House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper; Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson; Park City Mayor Nann Worel and Rep. Jon Hawkins, R-Pleasant Grove.

Most of the trip is funded through private donations, Bullock said. However, elected officials will be traveling at the taxpayers’ expense.

A key theme of the presentation is “elevate,” Bullock said — elevating the community, elevating sports, including a focus on youth engagement, and elevating the game’s experience.

Part of the latter is what Bullock calls the “Athlete’s Family Initiative,” which is an effort to keep the games accessible to families of Olympains by making tickets affordable and hosting an athlete’s family village.

“We’re going to speak from the heart, because Utah loves the games,” Bullock said.

Bullock said they will also touch on the game’s master plan. A key selling point is that all the venues are within an hour drive of the village.

“That doesn’t happen, almost anywhere else in the world,” Bullock said.

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