PARIS, July 24. /TASS/. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) named on Wednesday Salt Lake City in the United States as the host venue for the 2034 Winter Olympic Games, the IOC press office said in a statement.
A decision was made at the 142nd IOC Session in Paris with 83 members of the IOC commission voting in favor for the American venue and six against.
"Salt Lake City - Utah will host the 27th Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2034," the statement reads. "This decision was taken by the IOC Members today during the 142nd IOC Session Paris."
Salt Lake City is located in the US State of Utah and it previously hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 2002.
The statement quoted IOC President Thomas Bach as saying after the decision was announced: "Salt Lake City and Utah are long-time friends of the Olympic Movement, and we are confident that they will organize exceptional Olympic and Paralympic Games, just as they did years ago. The legacy of 2002 is tangibly and passionately alive in Utah. The legacy of 2034 starts today."
The Governor of the US State of Utah, Spencer Cox, said in turn: "The Olympics and Paralympics represent so much more than competition."
"At its core, the Olympic Movement is about building community and celebrating excellence, things we do really well in Utah… We're ready to host another Olympic Winter Games, and we can't wait to welcome the world back to Utah in 2034," Cox added.
Karl Stoss, IOC Member and Chair of the Future Host Commission for the Olympic Winter Games, said commenting on the decision: "Olympic Winter Games in Utah represent a fantastic opportunity."
"This very strong project benefits from an exceptionally high level of public and political support. The athletes will benefit from great facilities and opportunities this project has to offer," he added.
Earlier in the day, IOC Member John Coates, Chair of the IOC’s Legal Affairs Commission, stated that the organization could severe its deal with Salt Lake City on hosting the Games in case the United States fail to recognize the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in the fight against doping.
According to the statement, "the IOC has reinforced the current language in order to protect the integrity of the international anti-doping system and to allow the IOC to terminate the Olympic Host Contract in cases where ‘the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency in the fight against doping is not fully respected or if the application of the World Anti-Doping Code is hindered or undermined’."
Earlier in the day, the IOC announced that it awarded France with the right to host the 2030 Winter Olympic Games in the French Alps.
Given the IOC decisions on Wednesday, both the United States and France will be hosting each two editions of the Olympic Games over the next decade starting with the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. The US city of Los Angeles is set to welcome the 2028 Olympics, Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo will host the 2026 Winter Olympics and Australia’s Brisbane will organize the 2032 Summer Games.