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≡ STEERING COMMITTEE MEETS ≡
There is lots of chatter – some good, some bad – on the “transition” Utah 2034 logo that debuted last week. During a Utah 2034 Steering Committee meeting on Monday morning, Nate Morley of the Works Collective, who worked closely with lead designer Molly Mazzolini, explained in depth the process of how the mark was created:
“Where did we draw the inspiration? The brief on this project was, essentially, looking at the state holistically and how do we be representative of all that Utah is and the diversity, not only in its peoples and its landscapes, and all the things that Utah is and can be.
“And so we obviously took a look at the landscape, one of the most unique, beautiful landscapes that exist; these other-worldly red-rock shapes that we all know and love from the southern portion of the state, to the dramatic peaks, the snowy, icy mountains that we find throughout the state.
“So we take inspiration from the landscape, we also take inspiration from the history of the state. So looking at indigenous people and some of the legacy that was left there, and then even looking at the urban design of how the city of Salt Lake, for example – or so many cities actually – are laid out in Utah. This incredible, rigid, sort of very organized grid system.
“So our challenge as a design firm was, how do you take the totality of all these inputs: the landscapes, the totality of the state, some of these distinct elements from history … how do you bring it all together in a way that can represent the state?
“We take a snapshot and we see winding canyon roads and peaks and arches and the bobsled course in Park City, and we see canyons in Lake Powell, and the ski runs on a ski resort.
“If we look at the letterforms on the transition logo, what’s interesting about this from our perspective and as we worked with the team at Utah34 is, none of these letterforms are meant necessarily to invoke any one particular element of the state, although you can see elements of all these shapes and forms in the letterforms themselves, but it’s meant to evocative of the state in its entirety.”
Slides accompanying his presentation showed how the letter “A” in “Utah” reflected the famous Delicate Arch in Arches National Park near Moab. Morley emphasized:
“You can see peaks, you can see slot canyons, you can see the line of a skier going down the mountain, you can see all these things represented in the letterforms.”
Mazzolini explained why the mark was presented – at the start – only in monochrome:
“It’s purposefully in black and white right now, as a nod to our Team USA Paralympians, who taught us that black and white is the highest contrast and the best visibility.”
The organizing effort continues apace in Salt Lake City, with the organizing committee’s “listening tour” of state-wide communities continuing. Executive Chair and President Fraser Bullock explained that staying ahead of the task list is not easy:
“The Games are so complicated. You think about most organizations, they have six or seven functions – most companies – we have 48. And so the complexity is almost mind-boggling.
“I remember when I started back in 2002, we had our planning people put together a road map of all the things we needed to go. We had 37,000 milestones and tasks that needed to be done. And it’s almost incomprehensible, 37,000 that needed to be done back then and we’ll have more now with the extended footprint of the [2034] Games.
“So you never want to get behind.”
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U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee chief executive Sarah Hirshland talked with enthusiasm about its preparations for Milan Cortina:
“Our shipping containers are sitting in the port in Europe, and waiting to be unloaded and spread across the country of Italy, as we do our preparations, our team will start heading over there. We’ve actually got several folks in Milan-Cortina area this week, doing some last-minute preparations. We’ll start heading over in January and getting things set up and to welcome Team USA pretty quickly.”
She was also enthusiastic about the possibilities for the first U.S. medal ever in biathlon (the U.S. won two Worlds silvers in 2025) and on the performance side:
“I think there will be more medals to celebrate than we had at the last Winter Games, it’s always our goal, and Team USA is ready. And I think we’re feeling really optimistic that Italy is ready to welcome us. Of all the things we can say, Italy will be welcoming and Italy will be fun.”
Americans won 25 medals (9-9-7) at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing (CHN), ranking third in total medals behind Norway (37) and Germany (27).
Utah 2034 chief executive Brad Wilson said a sizable Utah 2034 delegation will be going to the 2026 Games as well:
“On the donor side, we’ve got two waves of approximately 20 people each, and then on the Observer Program side, which includes our staff as well as individuals from our Host Venue communities and other community leaders, we have about 80 individuals who will be joining us. …
“We’re really looking forward to that trip. Even our donors said, ‘put us to work, let us go see the things we need to know to be able to help you plan and create a lasting legacy for our state and our community.’ Of course, the Observer Program is full of busy agendas and a lot of deep-dive work into what it takes to host a Winter Games.”
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