French Alps and Salt Lake City-Utah selected as hosts for the 2030 and 2034 Winter Olympics and Paralympics
The new hosts were elected on the eve of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The hosts for the 2030 and 2034 Winter Olympics and Paralympics were announced on Wednesday, with the French Alps selected to host in six years’ time and Salt Lake City-Utah four years after that.
This decisions were made by votes from members of the International Olympic Committee during the 142nd IOC Session in Paris, on the eve of the Summer Olympic Games beginning on Friday in the French capital.
Both bids were the lone candidates for their respective Games, after entering exclusive talks with the IOC last November to try and confirm the two hosts by this July. As a result, Wednesday’s vote was referendum-style, rather than voting for one bid versus another.
The votes showed overwhelming support for both Winter Olympic and Paralympic bids. There were 84 ‘yes’ votes for French Alps 2030 by the IOC Members, four ‘no’ votes and seven abstentions, out of 88 valid votes. For the Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 bid, there were 83 ‘yes’ votes, six ‘no’ votes and six abstentions, out of 89 valid votes.
The French Alps 2030 Olympics are expected to take place from February 8-24, 2030. The Paralympics will follow shortly after. Events will take place in four clusters, from Lake Geneva and the Alps in the north to the Mediterranean Sea in the south, taking advantage of as many existing venues as possible.
That is important for environmental reasons, but also for time management reasons. With less than six years until the 2030 Olympics and Paralympics, there isn’t as much time as hosts typically get to plan and execute their ideas for the Games.
The Games being hosted there in 2030 are contingent on the IOC’s “Games Delivery Guarantee” being ratified by the French Parliament no later than 1 March 2025. It cannot be immediately ratified as parliamentary elections this month left France with a caretaker national government.
The IOC would be in a lot of trouble potentially if it falls through at this stage.
“France pushes the limits of excellence every time it organises a sports event,” said Emmanuel Macron, France President, in a press release. “We believe in the future of our mountains, and we need to support their model for the future: innovative, ambitious, mindful of ecological issues, and accessible by everyone.
“I reaffirm to you here this morning the full commitment of the French State to organising these Games. Paris 2024 will be a success, and the same will be true for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2030. You can trust us – we will be there, and we are proud to support this candidature for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2030.”
Those Olympics would be the fourth Winter Games held in France, and the first time in 38 years, since Albertville 1992. They would also come just six years after the Paris 2024 Games, which will begin on Friday.
Salt Lake City, meanwhile, is looking to host the winter Games for the second time after previously doing so in 2002. The Games will also come just six years after the United States hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Los Angeles.
The 2034 bid was overwhelmingly supported by locals, with over 80 per cent of Utahns and 100 per cent of elected leaders supporting it, according to Governor of Utah, Spencer Cox.
Hosting the Games again in Utah has been viewed as a potential winter host for years, as many of the 2002 venues are still in use over two decades later. There is a commitment for the 2034 Games to use exclusively existing or temporary venues, which is good for financial and environmental reasons, and boosted public support.
“Salt Lake City and Utah are long-time friends of the Olympic Movement, and we are confident that they will organise exceptional Olympic and Paralympic Games, just as they did years ago,” said Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, in a press release. “The legacy of 2002 is tangibly and passionately alive in Utah. The legacy of 2034 starts today.”
Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 will take place from February 10-26, 2034 — a few months shy of a decade away. The 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics will take place across three regions of Italy, primarily Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
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