Recent meetings with the IOC have led U.S. officials to believe all signs point toward Salt Lake City bidding for the 2034 Winter Olympics, though they say Utah's capital will be ready if asked to host the 2030 Games, too.
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee chair Susanne Lyons said she views Salt Lake City as the leading candidate for the 2034 Olympics.
She added the complexities of hosting 2030 only two years after the Summer Games in Los Angeles make that a less-likely scenario. "We will figure this out, but if we have a preference, it would be better for us to do 2034," Lyons said in an interview with The Associated Press. "So I think in Salt Lake, the bid committee is realizing that we are in an absolutely fantastic position for 2034 but we may still be called upon for 2030." More clarity is expected to come later this year, with a large part of the decision based on what other cities step in.
Other bids engaged in continuous dialogue with the IOC include one from B.C. and another from Sapporo, Japan. A Spanish-led effort was withdrawn earlier this week when the local governments of Barcelona and the Pyrenees region could not reach agreement on shared hosting rights.