Future Olympic Host Salt Lake City Welcome French Counterparts

It seemed apt that as the first major snowfall that reached not only the mountains but the low-lying valleys in the Salt Lake region came right as representatives from the Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in France visited in the first in-person meeting between the areas that will host back-to-back future Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The International Olympic Committee’s Future Host Commission invited Salt Lake to targeted dialogue for 2034 in late November, the next step in ensuring the biggest winter sports event in the world will return to the region that previously hosted the 2002 Games. France is on track to host a pair of Olympic Games within the space of six years after its bid focusing on the Alps region was invited to targeted dialogue by the IOC with the goal of being awarded the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, six years after Paris hosts the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games.

“This is about sharing ideas,” SLC-UT Chief Executive Officer Fraser Bullock said, later adding “we want to stay close together because we’re going to have common things that are going to from their Games to our Games whether it’s sponsors, hospitality providers, ticketing technologies or engaging the communities.”

The French delegation of government, academic and tourism representatives toured the sliding and ski training areas as after-school programs were being organized and athletes from the Ukraine and Kazakhstan were doing aerial training, as well as the Utah Olympic Park museums.

“One of the interesting things from their delegation was our perception of what the Utah way is and how much we here in Utah use a thing like the Games to have people rally around a common cause and have that collaboration really shine,” said Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation Chief Executive Officer Colin Hilton.

The IOC’s feasibility study on the Salt Lake bid praised its 2002 legacy, including 100 percent use of existing venues that were used in 2002 and are still maintained. The French bid spreads across four hubs around the Alps near previous Winter Games hosts Chamonix (1924), Grenoble (1968) and Albertville (1992). A French bid uniting the Alps and the French Riviera resort Nice as host for indoor winter sports came together only in the past year-plus.

The visit was part of a larger tour of Utah organized through the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity. The French delegation was scheduled to meet with Utah Governor Spencer Cox on Friday as part of the visit. The Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region may not have the international reputation of a winter sports destination but Marseille will host sailing and soccer, while Nice will also host soccer matches as part of the Paris 2024 Games. The region also was part of France’s hosting of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

“When we speak about Utah before your Olympic Games, we think about your national parks,” said Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region President Renaud Muselier. “We don’t speak about your mountains or snow. But now, we do. For the south of France, it’s the same thing. You know about Cannes, Nice, Marseille, the Rivieria. But not everybody knows we have the Alps region and snow. It’s very important to have this project.”

Whether the Games are six years or 10 years away, they are never very far from mind. Bullock was able to take four days around the holidays to go skiing with his grandchildren and, “there’s nothing like being on the mountain with grandkids of varying abilities and just soaking in the sunshine and beautiful vistas – but the Games are always in the back of my mind and every time I think about them, I have two thoughts. One, I have a big smile on my face to be so lucky to be involved in something so special like this. The other is, well, we still have a lot of work to do. But it’s a great labor of love.”