DENVER — Denver will not host the 2030 Winter Olympics. The United States Olympic Committee announced Friday afternoon that Salt Lake City would represent the potential U.S. bid for the 2030 event.
“I’d like to thank Denver and Salt Lake City, and their respective leadership teams, for participating in this process and their commitment to make the Olympic and Paralympic movements stronger,” said USOC Chair Larry Probst in a press release. “We’re incredibly lucky to have multiple able and willing cities to choose from, but in the end, we believe Salt Lake City will give us the best chance to return the winter Games to the U.S.”
Both Mountain West cities submitted their plans for how they envisioned the games, from venues to transportation to accommodations. USOC staff visited each of the cities and spoke to those proposing the bids.
“The United States is committed to hosting Games that are both remarkable and practical, and we believe that Salt Lake City is the community most capable of delivering against that promise,” said USOC CEO Sarah Hirshland in the statement. “This exploration process was a unique opportunity for the USOC to develop even stronger partnerships with each city and state and all involved will continue to play a critical role in our winter athletes’ success.”
Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Games in 2002.
Denver was selected to host the 1976 Winter Olympics and famously withdrew its bid. Innsbruck, Austria was selected as Denver’s replacement for ’76.