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SALT LAKE CITY — In the windowless speakeasy of the Edison House in downtown Salt Lake City, the international Olympic delegation gathered for a final press conference to wrap up their four-day visit to Utah. The velvet-lined room glowed with uncovered incandescent bulbs and a kind of hope, a palpable optimism for the possibilities that a 2034 Winter Olympics would bring again to Utah.
"This has been one of the best weeks of my life," said Fraser Bullock, president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games. "It's been so fantastic and vulnerable. Feeling the power of the movement, we're just so lucky to be part of it."
Christophe Dubi, the executive director of the Olympic Games, called Utah a "hidden gem."
"We knew coming in that we will see great venues and fantastic program, but this desire to elevate them, to be ambitious, was something else," he said.
The chairman of the future host commission, Karl Stoss, lauded the Utah's venues as "shining examples of the legacy of Salt Lake City 2002," impressed that they have been maintained to a "very, very high standard," with continuing demonstrated demand.
Initially, the panel spoke on the logistics of the future games and how it fits into the development of a fast growing state. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said the Games are in "perfect alignment" with the future vision of Salt Lake City, and the area will be investing in infrastructure regardless of a decision on the Games.
In a decade, Mendenhall wants to see a Main Street pedestrian promenade, more green space and capacity for family housing in the downtown core.
"We are enthusiastic about the transformation that we will embrace as we learn how we can do better for 2034." Mendenhall said speaking of the changes that have taken place since the the city first hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002. "These games will be different, they must be different, we are different."
The IOC delegation — friendly, open, interminably positive — embodied what only global sports, like the Olympics or the World Cup, are capable of representing. They framed the competition itself, which lasts around three weeks, as a sort of side show to the real impacts the Games could have on a community over the long run.
Dubi said the Olympic Games matter because they teach that "sport is based on values. Those values are incredibly simple. It's respecting the rules, it's respecting your opponent. It's respecting everyone from everywhere."
"Sport is the bridge to a peaceful life together," Stoss said.
The impact of sports on the youth was possibly the largest topic of discussion Saturday. "So many opportunities come through sport," Bollock said. "It's an alternative to being on devices, and an alternative that teaches deep lessons that will be a huge benefit to them throughout their lives."
Four-time Olympic speedskater Catherine Raney Norman, chairwoman of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, outlined a movement to engage more young people in the preparation for the Games, exposing them to different sports, communities and mentorship opportunities.
"This isn't just about sport in games, winning and losing, right? We're creating people and building character," she said.
"These uplifting values, these universal values are exceedingly important to all of us," said Gene Sykes, chairman of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. "And it's why so many of us volunteer our time and put huge effort behind this. This is important to the world, and it's more than sport. It's what sport does for people."
"We're very determined to use this long runway as a way to engage the broadest group of Americans possible," Sykes said.
Saturday's press conference ended a four day visit from the delegation. The group began at the Rice-Eccles Stadium Wednesday, before taking the TRAX light rail train from Fort Douglas to the Delta Center.
Thursday, the visitors made back to back stops at Park City's Olympic Park, Mountain Village, the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center above Midway, a ride on a chairlift at Snowbasin, down to the Olympic Oval in Kearns where long track speed skating would take place, before finishing the day courtside at the Utah Jazz's final home game.
The 124-121 win over the Houston Rockets could be auspicious, as Utah enters the final stretch of a lengthy process to confirm the state as the official host of the 2034 Winter Games. The delegation will now prepare a recommendation to IOC leaders about the 2034 Games.
It will be up to the IOC Executive Board whether Salt Lake City — already named the preferred host for 2034 under the reformed selection process being used for the first time — should get a final vote this summer.
Another seemingly fortuitous sign — the final vote by the full membership is anticipated on July 24, Pioneer Day in Utah.
