The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has conditionally awarded the French Alps and Salt Lake City, Utah (US), with hosting rights for the 2030 and 2034 Winter Olympic Games, respectively.
The official confirmation was largely a formality - with the two locations having been recommended as hosts by the IOC’s executive board back in June, both have now been confirmed via a pair of votes from IOC members, with French Alps 2030 passing with 84 in support, four against, and seven abstentions, while Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 passed with 83 yes votes, six no’s, and six abstentions.
Both regions were effectively guaranteed hosting rights to the two Winter Olympics last November when they were unveiled as the sole preferred bidder for each edition.
Salt Lake City (SLC) in Utah will put on the Winter Olympics for the second time, originally doing so in 2002, while France has previously staged those games in 1924, 1968, and 1992. Specifically, French Alps 2030 involves the regions of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur.
Despite the surface approval of the IOC, both editions of the games will need to meet stringent conditions in order to be fully confirmed as the hosts, with their IOC contracts signed.
For France, this means the finalization of the Games Delivery Guarantee, which has not yet closed due to the ongoing political situation in the country, regarding the recent parliamentary elections that shook up the country and prompted the resignation of the last Prime Minister.
The next French Prime Minister, whoever it turns out to be - there is currently nobody in place - must file the Delivery Guarantee by October 1 at the latest and have it ratified in French Parliament by March 1, 2025, in order to finally confirm hosting duties.
Conditions have also been imposed on the US for the delivery of Salt Lake City-Utah 2034, albeit entirely different stipulations.
The IOC’s conditions regard the current controversy over the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and its position within the global hierarchy of anti-doping bodies. In essence, the IOC has demanded that USADA recognize the “supreme authority” of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The US has previously criticized WADA’s handling of an investigation into cases of alleged doping by Chinese swimmers prior to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
When presenting the bid prior to the vote, the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee stated that its commitment to WADA’s principles is “absolute”, while IOC president Thomas Bach later remarked that he felt sorry for the USOPC as they had “nothing to do with this”.
The IOC has inserted a clause into the USOPC’s contract for the games stating that it retains the right to terminate the deal at any point should the US or USADA itself undermines WADA’s authority, specifically requiring Utah officials to collaborate with the US government to stem the controversy placing a large burden on the USOPC.
The last Winter Olympics were held in Beijing in February, 2022.
