PARK CITY, Utah — Representatives from Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, a region in France named by the International Olympic Committee as the preferred host of the 2030 Olympic Games met with members of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games and the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation.
In November, SLC-UT was named by the I.O.C. as the preferred host of the 2034 Olympic Games.
Both delegations are building a relationship to help make the other better.
“We have new friends as of today where we can work together in a common cause to help bring sport to the world and inspire the world,” said Fraser Bullock, the C.E.O. of the SLC-UT Committee for the Games. “One of the things we are looking forward to doing is collaborating.”
With the French Alps likely to host the 2030 Winter Olympics and facing a tight timeline, organizers from France hope to draw on the expertise of Utah’s delegation that organized a successful Olympics in 2002.
“I have seen Governor Cox when he comes in Paris and I say to him if we continue in this adventure, we come as soon as possible here in Utah to see the responsible people who do the Games here,” said Renaud Muselier, the President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azure region.
This isn’t a one-sided relationship.
While the delegation from France hopes to learn from 2002’s legacy, Utah organizing officials will watch 2030 with a keen eye to see how the Games have changed and learn valuable lessons in anticipation of 2034.
“We want to stay close together because we are going to have common things that are going to go from their games to our games – whether it’s top sponsors or hospitality providers or ticketing technologies,” Bullock said.
This visit is part of a larger tour of Utah organized by the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity.
It will not be the last connection between these new friends.
While these future Olympic Games are still years away, the time to organize is finite. That’s why the groups from Utah and France value the expertise and experiences of their counterparts and are seizing the opportunity to tap into that knowledge.
“My feeling is we love the mountains, we love the Games, we love the snow, we love what we do – so it's very easy to work together,” Muselier said.
The I.O.C. will officially award the 2030 and 2034 Winter Olympic Games in July.
