Axios Salt Lake City
July 24, 2024
1 big thing: The Winter Games are returning
Salt Lake City will host the 2034 Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee formally announced Wednesday in Paris.
State of play: Thousands of fans waving flags with the Olympics symbol celebrated the news at a watch party in downtown Salt Lake that started around 3am MT.
- The long-awaited decision comes as the IOC board convenes ahead of this year's Summer Olympic games, which kick off July 24.
Friction point: Before voting, the committee expressed reservations over a recent controversy dealing with the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) authority in the United States.
- U.S authorities have disputed WADA's findings that cleared Chinese swimmers of intentional doping at the 2021 Tokyo Games. The FBI is investigating under a federal law that authorizes U.S. prosecution in international doping cases.
Fine print: The IOC amended Salt Lake's contract to require organizers to defer to WADA in doping investigations — and warned the contract could be terminated if the U.S. doesn't recognize WADA's authority.
Unlike several other past Olympic hosts, Utah has kept its sports venues operational since the state hosted the 2002 Games.
- Worldwide competitions are regularly held on the ski jumps, bobsled track, ice rinks and cross-country ski courses.
Context: The Wasatch Mountains also supply the training grounds for multiple Winter Olympics athletes.
- During the 2022 Games in Beijing, more than 80 athletes who competed were either from Utah, attended school in or trained in the state, per a study.
Catch up quick: In November, Salt Lake City was named the sole finalist to host in 2034.
- Utah's capital city initially bid to host in 2030, but later targeted 2034 to avoid competing for sponsors with the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
What we're watching: The IOC is considering a permanent rotation of host cities as global warming shrinks the number of "climate-reliable" venues for winter sports.
- That means Salt Lake could host again within 20-30 years.
Fun fact: A mogul run at the newly expanded Utah Olympic Park is named Axios! (We didn't have anything to do with it, but we'll accept the honor.)
Worth your time: Enjoy this video of Erin yardsale-ing down the 2002 women's Olympic downhill run at Snowbasin.
2. ⛷️ Wayback Wednesday: The 2002 Winter Games
The Winter Games are coming back to Salt Lake City in 2034.
Flashback: Here's a look at how the Winter Olympics unfolded in Utah in 2002:
View of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Feb. 8, 2002.
Anja Paerson of Sweden came in second in the women's giant slalom, which was also held at Snowbasin.
3. 🚗 Car insurance rates are spiking
The cost of car insurance has climbed rapidly in Utah for the past 18 months.
Why it matters: Fast-rising insurance rates are contributing to a transportation affordability crisis — especially in places where people have few alternatives to car ownership.
Driving the news: Utah's average annual cost of full-coverage insurance hit $2,009 in June, per Insurify, a digital insurance agent that helps users collect quotes from multiple insurers.
- That's up from $1,127 in January 2021.
Between the lines: Insurers are still catching up after driving and accident rates climbed after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Axios' Courtenay Brown reports, leaving them with more money going out than coming in.
- "The longer it took to address that issue, the deeper in the hole the insurers were and the more price increases they actually needed," Yaron Kinar, an analyst who covers insurers at Jefferies, told Courtenay.
Lucky us: Utah insurance rates still trend below costs elsewhere — though we're gradually catching up.
- The national average reached $2,329, up from $1,601 in January of 2021.
4. Fry Sauce: A swirl of headlines
5. 🎞️ How locals can get early Sundance tickets
Axios Salt Lake City
