- Salt Lake City will host a free viewing event for the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
- The event, starting Feb. 6, includes live entertainment, food, drinks and a drone show.
- Mayor Erin Mendenhall hopes it boosts excitement for the 2034 Utah Winter Olympics.
SALT LAKE CITY — The 2034 Utah Winter Olympics and Paralympics are eight years away, but Utah's capital city is offering a unique way for residents to embrace the Olympic fever early.
Salt Lake City is turning its civic center — the space between the Salt Lake City Main Library and Washington Square at 450 S. 200 East — into the ultimate free Milano Cortina 2026 Games viewing space, it's calling "the watch party."
Festivities will start at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 6, with live entertainment, food and drinks, before the prime time broadcast of the opening ceremony is aired on large screens set up at the plaza and on 200 East, which will be closed off to traffic in the area for the night. A drone show and "surprise events" are also planned for the evening, said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
A scaled-down setup, with 200 East open, will remain in place for Olympic viewing through Feb. 22, and again from March 6 to March 15, for the 2026 Paralympics. The mayor said all Utahns are invited, including any local athletes coming and going from the global competition.
"It's not just a watch party, it is 'the' watch party," she said. "We're chomping at the bit for eight years from now when it's our turn to welcome the world again, but — in the meantime — we don't want to wait to celebrate. We're ready to get together now, and that legacy ... starts again on Feb. 6."
The city first unveiled its plan for a watch party in October, hiring Dragonfli Media to help organize the event. It's working with the skiing, speedskating and other Utah-based national governing bodies for activities at its events, said Mike Jaquet, chief revenue officer for the Salt Lake City-based event production company.
That's in addition to live music, food, drinks and other entertainment planned for the duration of the Games. It'll be set up for families and people of all ages to enjoy, he added.
This event may drum up support for the 2034 Utah Winter Olympics and Paralympics, but it also may help inspire future competitors in 2030, 2034 and beyond, said former Olympic Alpine skier and current Olympic broadcaster Ted Ligety, the first gold medalist born and raised in Utah for any winter event.
Ligety came to the party site on Thursday to share his support, pointing out that a Utahn has won a gold medal at every Winter Olympics since his first win in 2006. He expects that streak to continue this February.
"That's an amazing legacy we have here," he said. "In the next couple of weeks, we're going to be able to watch so many Utahns. ... It's an amazing opportunity for us to watch kids in our community, people we may see in our grocery store, go out there, win medals and compete at their best. It's just a huge inspiration."
This event also helps the city better use its civic center as a year-round event space, something it plans to do more frequently. Mendenhall unveiled her plans to turn the space into a park during her State of the City address on Tuesday.
If approved by the City Council, construction could begin in a year or two, well ahead of 2034.
"My hope is that this becomes part of our community's Olympic legacy with a future park here," she said.
