IOC picks 2030, 2034 Olympics host cities

Both Utah and France are both expected to see the return of Olympic games in 2034 and 2030, respectively. 

The International Olympic Committee awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics to Salt Lake City, Utah, at an event July 24, 2024. At the same time, it gave the French Alps region a tentative nod for the 2030 Winter Olympics.

Salt Lake last hosted the games in 2002. Paris, France, is hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics. It also hosted in 1900 and 1924, but the 2030 games would be its first outing for the winter games.

France also had the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble and the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville on its soil.

The IOC is still awaiting final guarantees from the French government, which have been stalled due to snap elections July 7, 2024, that failed to produce a majority government.

With only about five-and-a-half years until the 2030 opening ceremonies, the French Alps organizers have the shortest lead-time to prep to host the games than any games in modern history. This could trigger a flurry of news construction or updates to retrofit existing venues for events and support infrastructure such as the International Broadcast Center.

NBCUniversal has the U.S. TV rights to all Olympics through 2032 (those games will be held in Brisbane, Australia, so it will air the French Alps. It is not clear if IOC and NBC have begun talks to extend the deal farther into the future, so NBC may or may not end up carrying the 2034 games.

It was not immediately clear how the 2030 games will be marketed. The official bid announcement used the name “French Alps.” The city of Nice, France, has been mentioned as one possible hub, while others include Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

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The Olympics are typically awards to specific cities, though in reality the venues for the games can be held in nearby municipalities or, in some cases, other regions of the countries. This is largely drive by the demands for outdoor venues.

There have also been a handful of cases when the games were officially marketed with two names.

In 1960, the Winter Olympics were held in Squaw Valley, California, which is an unincorporated region near Lake Tahoe. The region has since been renamed Olympic Valley, though the Squaw name continues to be used, particularly by locals.