What will you be doing in February 2026? How about volunteering at the nearest venue for the Winter Olympics?
As Los Angeles is revving up to host its third Summer Olympic Games in 2028, the Associated Press reported last week that Salt Lake has started discussions about bidding for its second Winter Olympics in 2026. Beijing will host the Winter Olympics in 2022.
It probably won’t hurt that Mitt Romney, who successfully rescued the 2002 Utah games from controversy as Salt Lake Organizing Committee president, now lives in Utah. Romney helped Utah celebrate the 15th anniversary of the 2002 Winter Games this past February. After losing the Outdoor Retailer show this year, we need to get back on the offense of inviting people, and business, to our great state.
The president of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, Colin Hinton, said, “We stand ready, willing and able when the time is right for the U.S. to host a Winter Olympics.” Utah has remained a premier destination for athlete training, and is prepared to host international athletes once again.
Austria, Switzerland and Canada may also be vying for the 2026 games, as well as sister-state Colorado. The International Olympic Committee will announce its pick in 2019.
Utah hosting another Winter Olympics is a no-brainer. We already have the world-class facilities necessary to host winter sports competitions. We have maintained those venues since 2002 and they are still in use, though some may need updating. We also have a large population of volunteers ready and willing to cheer olympians on.
Utah’s geography is key. Mountain slopes are less than 30 miles from downtown events as well as an international airport. And we have multiple resorts as well as university housing ready and able to host athletes, media and fans.
But we’ll need money. We’ll need money to fix and improve our infrastructure. We’ll need money to update Olympic venues. And we’ll need money to bribe Olympic committee authorities. Oh wait, we shouldn’t need money for that.
Few things compare with the excitement of speed skating, the beauty of figure skating or the danger of the luge. Utah has already made the financial investment. Let’s reap the rewards once again.
At the very least, maybe this new bid for 2026 will encourage whoever is in charge of such things to get the iconic Hoberman Arch out of some heap in storage and display it as it should be displayed.
The 2002 Winter Olympic Games was a great time of unity and purpose along the Wasatch Front. We could use such unity and purpose again.