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≡ IOC SESSION REPORT ≡
This never happens. Never. Ever.
The International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Games Executive Director, Christophe Dubi (SUI) told the Utah 2034 Winter Games organizers during his comments to the 145th IOC Session about the organizing committee’s progress:
“Think about innovations, think about the legacy, think about elevate, but let’s not plan.”
Wow.
But there are good reasons for him to say that.
Utah 2034 President Fraser Bullock, during his report to the Session, explained that the staff includes just 12 people, but that the “Podium34″ fund-raising effort from the Utah business and philanthropic community, had reached $250 million.
In previous U.S. organizing committee start-ups, the first issue is raising enough funds to stand up a small team to begin the process of planning the Games. Further, no corporate sponsorship sales are available for the 2034 organizers until 2029, following the 2028 Los Angeles Games. But the Utah 2034 team vaporized that issue, creating a program to assemble support from private-sector sources within the state.
The response, announced last September, was stunning, with all-private-sector commitments of $200 million through 2034. The initial goal of $200 million was raised to $300 million, and Bullock explained that the total commitments have now reached $250 million!
It’s also noted that the Utah 2034 venue plan calls for no new venues to be built, and will be the beneficiary of renovations to existing sites used for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games and possible new facilities that may show up before 2034. Utah 2034 has already talked about a revolutionary concept of an “Athlete Family Village” to provide better, direct support for relatives of the competitors at the Games, usually a responsibility of an athlete’s National Olympic Committee.
So, when Dubi was asked for comments about the IOC staff view of the status of the 2034 effort, he enthusiastically offered comments perhaps never before heard at an IOC Session by an IOC staff member:
“You go to Salt Lake City, up in the mountains, Utah Olympic Park. You visit Delta Center. You go to Solider Hollow. The venues are better than they were 20 years ago. It’s outstanding, what you have done over time.
“I think it’s a testament of the love that this community has for the Olympic Games and for Olympism.
“And if one ever doubts about the power of transformation of the Olympic Games, let’s go back to Utah. And this is what we do. And when we go there, we are really hosted by a community …
“It is truly extraordinary.”
He closed with this:
“We have all the conditions for these Games to be outstanding. The only thing I urge Utah 2034 to do is not to start planning for these Games. Think about innovations, think about the legacy, think about elevate, but let’s not plan. We don’t need to do it at this stage.”
Stunning.
And there was a hint of more Winter Games in Utah, as International Skating Union President Jae Youl Kim (KOR), added in the question-and-answer session:
“We’ve started talking about the rotational model and this is something that Salt Lake City could be a great model, where we would actually make the rotation model a reality.”
The 2002 Winter Games was a huge success. So, Utah 2034 is coming and perhaps, Utah again in 2046 or 2050? It’s under discussion.
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