The summer Olympics are set to begin this week in Paris. The opening ceremonies are scheduled for Friday, but an early celebration will kick off on Wednesday morning.
The International Olympic Committee will reveal the host city for the 2034 Winter Games, with all eyes on Salt Lake City, Utah.
It has been more than 20 years since Salt Lake City last hosted the Winter Games, and over a decade since efforts began to bring them back.
Terrence Burns, with experience in 14 Olympic bids, highlights the work led by entrepreneur Fraser Bullock and his team to bring the Olympics back to Utah.
RELATED STORY | Previewing the Paris Summer Olympics: When does it start, how to watch
“It takes a long time to put that together — so you never see that. Frankly, as an Olympic fan, what it took to win the Olympic Games, it’s kind of like a duck. You just see it going across the water and you don’t see how furiously its legs are kicking under the water,” Burns said. “The good news is that Salt Lake has everything that they need. They don’t have to build anything new. And that’s the new mantra with the IOC. If you have to build it, then don’t bother bidding. And you know, Salt Lake is the poster child for that.”
Burns emphasizes the unique process of bringing the Olympic Games to the United States, where it is privately funded rather than government-funded like in other countries.
“Our government, federal government, does not have a ministry of sport. We don’t have a cabinet-level position around sport. The federal government will not pour billions of dollars into Salt Lake the way the French government is pouring it into Paris,” he said. “In the United States, when we host an Olympic Games, it’s a purely funded and privately funded enterprise.”
The Winter Games in 2002 generated a profit of $56 million, and the potential for a second Olympics could have a lasting impact on Salt Lake City.
