International Events Emphasized in Leadup to 2034 Winter Olympics

In the coming months, the Salt Lake and Park City regions will host both the International Skating Union and International Luge Federation — part of a buildup of international events and federations putting ever-deepening roots in the home of the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

A SLC 2034 steering committee meeting noted one of the roles for the sport and venues committee will to develop strategies with international federations for “impactful projects in Utah.” Colin Hilton, chair of the committee, said they’ll work with the state of sport committee to extend sports efforts further internationally even before the traditional series of pre-Olympic test events.

“Hosting the Games brings the attention of the world and magnifies it many times,” Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 President Fraser Bullock said, noting that athletes from 30 countries already use the region as a training base. “With all the events we’ll be holding, we can really scale up having the world come here and enjoy our great venues. We’ll be seeing that grow as we approach the 2034 Games in a very significant way.”

USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland noted the region is a training base for both summer and winter athletes as well and with LA28 on the horizon along with SLC34, “the beauty of a Games on U.S. soil is we’ll have a great competitive advantage.

“They want to bring the best athletes around the world here because we have an abundance of riches in the sporting community,” Hirshland added. “You want to bring international competitors here; you want to give them the opportunity to train here and compete against ourselves. Your best competition is what pushes you to get better.”

The SLC 2034 steering committee’s meeting included a variety of other reports including the celebration of the recent Podium34 announcement. The initiative by the organizing committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City has raised in excess of $200 million toward its $300 million goal.

“We know we can put on a Games,” said SLC2034 Vice President of Development and Athlete Relations Catherine Raney-Norman. “We know we will do it really well. But our legacy will be the impact that we leave from these Games.”

“I had a call from another OCOG CEO who asked me ‘Brad, how in the world are you raising that kind of charitable contributions and philanthropic support?’” said SLC 2034 CEO Brad Wilson, noting the Olympic and Paralympic movement’s standing throughout the state. Wilson also said the OCOG will hold an event surrounding the 3,000-day countdown on November 24.