Salt Lake City booted from name of "Utah 2034" Winter Games
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A promotional image of Utah 2034 products. Courtesy of Utah 2034
When the 2034 Winter Games come to the Wasatch Mountains, their host city won't be part of the name. Instead, the event will be called Utah 2034.
Why it matters: Olympic and Paralympic games in the U.S. are historically named for the city where they're held — not the state.
The intrigue: Organizers say the name is a deliberate effort to brand the Olympics as a statewide event.
- Critics say it's a snub amid ongoing tension between the state and its capital city.
What they're saying: "This passion goes to all 29 counties of Utah, and we want each county to feel part of this great movement in our opportunity to host the world," Fraser Bullock, president of the organizing committee, said Monday in a news conference.
Reality check: There are no Winter Olympic venues in southern Utah's less-than-wintry desert climes.
Yes, but: Many of the competitions are held outside Salt Lake; Utah Olympic Park itself is in Summit County.
- Meanwhile, with five national parks and other major attractions in the state's red rock deserts, the Olympics are expected to drive tourism there.
The other side: "It stings," Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall told the Deseret News. "It's not the route I would have chosen for the name of these Games, but I sincerely do want the Games to lift up every community in the state."
- "I think the switch is unfortunate given the Salt Lake brand is what the world knows," Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson told Axios in a prepared statement. "Why would we distance ourselves from the success of the 2002 Games through a name change?"
Zoom in: The committee unveiled a logo that's intended to represent landscapes statewide, Bullock said.
- The letters and numbers in Utah 2034 are meant to evoke red rocks and ski tracks.
Catch up quick: A new state law this year gave authority to select leaders of the organizing committee to Gov. Spencer Cox, state Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz — all Republicans from outside Salt Lake County.
- They appointed former House Speaker Brad Wilson, a Republican from Kaysville, to be the committee's CEO.
The big picture: As in many conservative states with liberal capital cities, Utah and Salt Lake leaders have frequently been at odds.
- For example, Mendenhall has described the state Legislature as "punitive" toward the city.