It was the middle of February of 2020 when the roster of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games was named during an event at the state Capitol.

Figures representing a range of backgrounds and industries were tapped to pursue a second Winter Olympics in the state. It was a high-profile assignment with Salt Lake City, Park City and the wider region appearing confident that another Games was possible.

Which edition would make the most sense, perhaps the Games of 2030 or those of four years later, was not clear. There was, however, hope, possibly even an expectation, that the Olympic flame would be lit again in the capital city.

One of the prominent Park City-area names called that day was Colin Hilton, a winter-sports executive who brought vast experience to the task. Hilton, who died at 58 on Aug. 21, was a veteran of the organizing committee that staged the 2002 Winter Olympics and spent the intervening years in important roles in the winter sports realm and in local government. He eventually became the president and CEO of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, the organization that oversees the Utah Olympic Park, the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center and the Utah Olympic Oval.

Hilton during the event at the Capitol was appointed one of two vice-chairs of the board of directors, a post that helped ensure the Park City area was represented at the upper echelons of the bid hierarchy. Hilton, understanding the magnitude of the day, delivered remarks about the continued use of the competition venues from the 2002 Games. He credited elected officials, sports officials and businesspeople across the decades.

“From the Salt Lake Valley to the Heber Valley, from Ogden to Provo, we have figured out a way to find sustainable uses of these unique sport facilities. And not only kept them operating but having molded them into true assets in their communities,” Hilton said.

He spoke of the bidding that was looming for the Winter Olympic region, saying, “Our future Games will provide us an opportunity to align visionary goals of our state and local communities, and I look forward to joining together, rallying around a common cause and seeing what new successes we can achieve when we set our minds to it.”

The International Olympic Committee, a little more than four years later, awarded the Games of 2034 to Salt Lake City, with the Park City area selected as one of the key locations.

It is difficult to grasp, or to overestimate, just how significant a figure Hilton was in Games circles in a state with a Winter Olympic past and future. The mere presence of the nationally recognizable, politically polished Mitt Romney as the leader of the 2002-era Salt Lake Organizing Committee overshadowed Hilton and everyone else involved in that group. And Hilton later did not command the name recognition of the gold-medal winners who hailed from Utah, even with some of them greatly benefiting from the facilities under the umbrella of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation he led.

But Hilton nonetheless would come to stand as a unique luminary in the field.

Hilton arrived at the Salt Lake Organizing Committee after serving in a role with the group that staged the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and, earlier, working for the organization that hosted the 1994 World Cup soccer tournament in the United States. It was precisely the sort of background that would lead someone to the 2002 Games and into the current era of the 2034 Winter Olympics.

There is hardly anyone in the state with the same level of understanding of the mechanics of the Games. As a speaker, he could seamlessly move between Winter Olympic eras and between global sporting events, explaining the anticipated similarities and differences. Hilton’s resume was unparalleled.

He directed the Salt Lake Organizing Committee operations in Park City and surrounding Summit County. It was a crucial position with the community’s pivotal role in the Games. Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park were competition venues, and the community was critical to the transportation, security and celebration plans.

Hilton essentially was the organizing committee’s point person for the area. He worked with the leadership of Park City and Summit County, a host of other governmental institutions and the mountain resorts as the plans for the ultimately wildly successful Games were crafted. The events at the three competition venues were virtually sold out. Main Street provided the setting for a popular pedestrian-only celebration zone. The logistical plans, the most elaborate to date in the Park City area, essentially worked as designed.

“Quite frankly, we could have sold 40% more tickets to many of the events, maybe more. The demand was huge,” Hilton said in early 2003, as the organizing committee released the final report about the Games.

Hilton later worked for the Park City municipal government, overseeing the construction of the China Bridge garage expansion and the Quinn’s Junction recreation complex. He returned to the winter-sports field in 2006 and spent the rest of his career there.

It is unclear what sort of role Hilton would have played in the seven and a half remaining years of preparations for 2034. The Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation duties alone would have kept him at the forefront of the work. His deep knowledge of the 2002 Games would have been vital to any exercises comparing or contrasting the plans of 24 years ago to those under consideration for 2034.

Prior to his death, it was hard to envision a scenario in which Hilton was not, in some capacity, integral to the effort.

The notion that the state could host a second Winter Olympics arose during the previous Games era, but the talk of that possibility seemed to become more prevalent at certain points over the decades. The start of each Winter Olympic year spurred at least some conversation of a future Games, as did the arrival of notable anniversaries of 2002.

In 2014, as the Games in Sochi, Russia, opened, Hilton was among those in Utah touting the idea of another Winter Olympics. He was a member of a Games exploratory committee and perhaps the 2026 event was a potential option, backers indicated then. Hilton at that time described the state’s Olympic facilities as having remained busy in the 12 years since 2002 and said Utah had the infrastructure needed for a Games.

“We have essentially served as a great example of an Olympic city that got it right,” Hilton said that February.

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The Organizing Committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games announced the formation of its Utah 2034 Education Committee. The 16-person advisory committee brings together leaders from education, business, nonprofit and sport who share a commitment to empowering Utah’s next generation.

The committee will provide strategic guidance, foster partnerships and develop statewide initiatives that connect students and educators to the opportunities created along the road to 2034. Its mission includes launching a statewide classroom education program.

“A key vision point for Utah 2034 is to elevate communities,” said Utah 2034 President and Executive Chair Fraser Bullock. “Our Utah 2034 Education Committee brings together a diverse group of leaders who can guide us in impacting youth through classroom programs across the entire state, serving as a model for others to showcase the power of education and sport.”

One of the key missions of the Education Committee is to oversee a statewide education strategy that uses the excitement and values of the Olympic and Paralympic movement to strengthen student literacy, increase school attendance and track measurable student outcomes.

Amy Garff will chair the Education Committee. The Robert H. and Katharine B. Garff Foundation is a founding captain in Utah 2034’s innovative Podium34 program. As a pioneering captain in the Podium34 program, the family’s Ken Garff for Good Foundation, which has worked to provide pathways to education for Utah students for more than 20 years, will be providing leadership in developing educational tools to bring Olympic and Paralympic values into Utah classrooms.

Utah’s past state superintendent of public instruction, Syd Dickson, will serve as the committee’s vice chair. Olympic champion Nathan Chen, a Utah native, will serve in an athlete role.

“The Garff family has long been a believer in the power of education. Amy’s leadership of the Education Committee is a good example of how Podium34 can translate philanthropic participation into tangible statewide impact,” said Utah 2034 CEO Brad Wilson, who sits on the committee. “In our inaugural meeting, it was remarkable to see the interchange between educators from across the state and how everyone was joined in a common mission.”

Garff said, “The formation of the Education Committee is an important milestone as we begin building the educational legacy of the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. By bringing together passionate leaders from across the state, we’re creating opportunities for students to engage with the values of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement in meaningful ways that will extend well beyond the Games.”

During its inaugural meeting on July 29 at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, committee members were introduced to the vision and strategic priorities for education, and they participated in collaborative discussions with Olympians, Paralympians and school district superintendents. The objective was to identify opportunities to integrate Olympic and Paralympic values into education and establish measurable goals for long-term impact.

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Skimo was added to the 2030 Olympic program on June 25. 

The sport featuring uphill ski and foot travel and downhill ski racing received a recommendation to be added to the program by the International Olympic Committee Executive Board, following a proposal from the 2030 French Alps Games Organising Committee, which was reviewed by the IOC’s Olympic Programme Working Group. 

Olympic Programme Working Group Chair Karl Stoss said Skimo has potential to add “meaningful value” to the 2030 Games. The group appreciates the sport’s widespread appeal in the European Alps.

“(The Olympic Programme Working Group sees Skimo has shown the) ability to enhance diversity, authenticity and appeal, while building on its growing Olympic momentum,” Stoss said. “The emphasis for the French Alps (Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games) is on the individual discipline and its events, which they consider to best represent the core of the sport and the character of the Alps.”

The men’s and women’s sprints and mixed-gender relay were the only Skimo competitions in Milano Cortina. In the French Alps, there will be those three competitions and men’s and women’s individual races. Whereas sprint races can be over in just a few minutes, individual races are far more intense and can last several hours. International Ski Mountaineering Federation President Regula Meier is excited for Olympic fans to see the whole of the sport in 2030. 

“The individual races really show what the sport is,” Meier said. “Going up into the mountains, being on the summit and freeriding off-piste. With the sprint and mixed relays, we also show the sports and all elements of the sports, but in a smaller surrounding. … The individual and the team races are really the historical parts of our sport.”

Meier and the International Ski Mountaineering Federation felt a mixture of happiness and relief when the announcement about the 2030 program came on June 25. She feels they worked extremely hard to promote Skimo for the 2026 and 2030 Games. In federation-registered clubs, participation has doubled since the sport was added to the 2026 program in 2021. 

“Milano finished in the middle of February, and one month later at the end of March, the organizing committee had to send the proposal to the IOC,” Meier said. 

The International Ski Mountaineering Federation will look to improve the sprint races format and boost viewership for the sport before 2030. 

The five competitions in 2030 will be held in Montgenèvre, France, about a five hour drive southeast of Bormio, Italy, where the Skimo competitions were held during the Milano Cortina Games. The International Ski Mountaineering Federation plans on hosting future World Cups in Montgenèvre before 2030, as they did in Bormio before 2026. The first of six World Cups on the provisional 2026-27 calendar will be in Bormio in January 2027. 

“Ski mountaineering is rooted in the history of skiing, aligned with the identity of our Games and focused on the future,” said French Alps 2030 Organising Committee President Edgar Grospiron. “In the Alps, ski mountaineering is not a guest, it is at home. It is part of the scenery, landscapes and our culture.”

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The International Olympic Committee announced that Nordic combined would not be part of the 2030 Olympics on July 7.

The decision ended a 102 year long run for the ski jumping and Nordic skiing sport, which was part of every Winter Games to date including Milano Cortina in February. 

Nordic combined had been struggling with participation numbers and viewership. 

The decision came as a bit of a shock to the community, though, where many were holding onto hope that it would be pushed down the road or that women, who had never competed in the sport at an Olympics, would be added to the 2030 program. 

Nordic Combined USA President Jill Brabec said in mid-June that she wasn’t even contemplating the potential for the IOC to scrap the sport from the Games. Nordic Combined USA helps fund elite Nordic combined skiers and developing ones in the United States. 

“You always try to be optimistic,” Nordic Combined USA Treasurer Stephanie Wilson said. “I think everyone expected a little bit more of a nuanced decision. … Like we’re going to include them for this one, but then we’re going to evaluate.”

Nordic Combined USA had submitted a report detailing the sport’s strong media impressions to the IOC. The IOC said the sport ranked the lowest of all the winter sports in 11 of 14 popularity metrics in Milano Cortina. Wilson feels that the metrics were not explained well to Nordic Combined USA with numbers. 

“It felt like things were headed the right way,” Wilson said. “Seven countries are in the top 10 overall standings for women; that’s pretty good for diversity.”

Wilson said Nordic Combined USA has since moved on to focusing on the future of the sport. She wants to make sure athletes’ frustrations are heard, while also reminding them that this isn’t the end of Nordic combined. 

“I know the Olympics have huge importance because the sport has been a part of it for 100 years,” Wilson said. “This is an event that happens once every four years. … There are plenty of sports out there that are not a part of the Olympic movement that do just fine.”

The FIS World Cups and World Championships now become the pinnacle of the sport. There will be 11 Nordic combined World Cups this season and a World Championships in Falun, Sweden, Feb. 25-March 2, 2027. Wilson is hopeful these events are enough to keep kids across the country pursuing the sport. 

“Hopefully people are putting their kids in these programs because it’s a cool sport and it gives their kid a chance to do two different things,” Wilson said. “There’s tons of amazing life skills they get out of that, and it’s fun and it’s unique to where they live.”

Youth ski jumpers and Nordic combined skiers at Park City Ski and Snowboard’s Springer Tournee the second week of July had to grapple together with the IOC’s decision. They were back practicing on July 8, continuing to chase their goals. 

“It definitely had an impact,” Park City Ski & Snowboard Ski Jumping and Ski Mountaineering Director Adam Loomis said. “This was kind of the perfect way to move forward from some tough news and be reminded that our values and what makes us strong haven’t gone anywhere.”

Many of the skiers at the Springer Tournee came to learn from national team mentors. They often have dreams of competing in future Olympics like 2034, where Nordic combined could potentially be back on the table. 

“How amazing would it be to have local athletes competing in Park City in the Salt Lake Games?” Wilson said. “You would hope that the organizing committee is interested in having the sport with its ties.”

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By the end of the year, the 2034 Winter Olympic organizing committee intends to reach agreements covering all the lodging that it will need for the event.

Utah 2034 provided limited information about accommodations in a recently released Games Plan. The entry is nonetheless notable in the Park City area, which is expected to be a popular option for bookings by the Games crowds.

The Games Plan says the organizing committee “will deliver Games time accommodation by securing all hotel rooms required for Games in 2026 while continuing to take advantage of the rapid growth in the accommodation industry in Utah.” The passage applies to the entire Winter Olympic region, which is centered in the Salt Lake Valley and stretches into the mountains, rather than any specific locale.

“Utah 2034 will work to ensure availability, fair rates, and accessibility for all accredited stakeholders. This foundation enables reliable accommodation for all stakeholders, as well as the operation of the Athletes’ Family Village and the provision of alternative high-altitude lodging for athletes,” the Games Plan adds.

Utah 2034 said it has secured 21,000 rooms, anticipating it would reach an overall goal of 24,000 rooms in 2026. The organizing committee said it is not publicly detailing the geographic breakdown of the rooms.

Darren Hughes, who is the organizing committee’s vice president of Games delivery, in response to a Park Record inquiry, said Utah 2034 is “in process of ramping up our program to attract additional accommodation suppliers in Summit and Wasatch Counties over the summer — with a goal of securing another 1,000+ rooms for the 2034 Accommodation Program.”

There has been sporadic information publicized about the lodging efforts. In late 2023, months before the International Olympic Committee awarded the Games, the Utah committee that successfully mounted the bid said it had secured commitments from lodging properties across a large swath of northern Utah. At that time, the commitments involved the period around the 2034 Games as well as the period of the 2030 Winter Olympics. The 2030 Games were once a possibility for Utah before they were ultimately awarded to the French Alps.

The bid committee at that time indicated it had reached agreements with six lodging properties in the Park City area and another five in Wasatch County. The Park City-area properties, taken together, involved places offering a range of price points. The bid committee outlined that the agreements with the lodging properties stretched for up to 33 nights, from 14 nights immediately before the start of the Games to two nights after the closing ceremony.

The bid committee explained that the agreements were attractive to the lodging properties due to the length of the time periods involved. It also said at the time lodging properties were required to commit at least 60% of rooms to the Games and that the bid committee agreed to pay higher rates as individual properties committed more rooms. The committee said it approached every hotel in Park City and surrounding Summit County with at least 50 rooms and at least a two-star rating.

The Park City area will be critical to the Games, and occupancy will likely be high. Lodging in the area of the venues, as well as in Old Town, will likely command premium rates based on the locations. Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park are identified as competition venues, as is the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Wasatch County. Main Street, meanwhile, is expected to be one of the locations where crowds gather to celebrate.

The organizing committee is securing large blocks of lodging, but there are expected to be numerous options for Games crowds in Park City regardless of the Utah 2034 effort. The rooms the bid committee secured in the Park City area accounted for a small percentage of those available. The bid committee indicated there were hotels that decided against signing an agreement. The hotels that reached agreements with the bid committee kept some rooms out of the deals. The bid committee mostly tapped traditional hotels.

As the awarding of the Games of 2034 approached, the International Olympic Committee addressed lodging in a wider 2024 report about the Salt Lake City bid. Details included the projected rates for rooms, calculated on average and in 2034 dollars:

• $313 for a two-star property
• $439 for a three-star property
• $762 for a four-star property
• $838 for a five-star property

The report said the “average projected rooms rates for Games time appear to be on the high side.” The rates covered the entire Winter Olympic region. Park City’s resort-driven lodging industry has long been considered to be toward the top of the price scale in the state, particularly during the ski season.

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The 2034 Winter Olympic efforts this year and in 2027 will continue to move from the successful bidding for the event to the preparations for the Games.

The two years that follow — 2028 and 2029 — will involve a broad effort designed to prepare Utah 2034, the organizing committee, for the work required to stage the second Winter Olympics in the state. And the tasks after that will move to the details of the blueprints for the Games.

Utah 2034, as part of the recently released Games Plan, provided an outline of a timeline for the next eight years that illustrates the work to take the group to the Winter Olympics and then the period afterward. The timeline shows what the Games region should expect over the course of the planning even if it does not include details.

The Games effort will become one of the overriding issues for the region, with the organizing committee, various levels of government, the resort industry, businesses and residents all having large stakes. Park City and surrounding Summit County will have an outsized role in the Games, and the organizing committee’s timeline will be of consequence across the community.

Utah 2034 succeeded the committee that successfully bid for the Winter Olympics and has been moving through early tasks, including seating the leadership hierarchy and developing the Games Plan. The plan identifies a Strategic Horizon One, running from the present through 2030, and a Strategic Horizon Two, stretching from 2030 until 2034. Utah 2034 lists wide-ranging items in each of the horizons that, combined, bring the organizing committee through the Games and then to the eventual disbandment of the committee after the Olympic flame is extinguished. The Games Plan is the first version and there could be modifications to the timeline of the work.

The Strategic Horizon One involves two time periods.

The transition to the organizing of the Games runs from the present through 2027. Some of the planned work includes continued relationship building with various parties, fundraising, steps toward commercial programs for the Games and broadening “community engagement to inform impact and legacy priorities.” The organizing committee also intends to prepare for possibilities that could arise from the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

A two-year period of strategy follows in 2028 and 2029, with the organizing committee saying some of the key topics of the Games will be addressed. The Games Plan says there will be “high-level, long-term strategic thinking, scoping, securing resources, public engagement and communication, stakeholder experience plans, and infrastructure and venue design work.”

The organizing committee also plans to “activate commercial sponsorship and licensing programs and grow revenue sources” and “maximize opportunities” of the Games in Los Angeles. The period will also involve the development of “delivery strategies for important functions and services of the Games” like transportation and security.

The schedule for Strategic Horizon Two shows that stretch of the planning will be more granular.

“Horizon Two, to be developed in greater detail in future Games Plan versions as we approach 2030, will take us through the operational planning and readiness processes, the delivery of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and the transition to Games legacy realization,” the Games Plan says.

There are four time periods in Strategic Horizon Two:

The planning, covering 2030 and 2031. The work will include:

• “Integrated planning to detail what, how, when, and where services will be delivered, and how events will be operated.”
• The development of “detailed operating plans for each functional area, including resource requirements.”
• The development of the organizing committee’s plans for its workforce and building the team.

The readiness, running from 2032 until October of 2033. The work will include:

• Building “competence and confidence in people and teams.”
• Testing the “fields of play, technology, and workforce preparedness.”
• Building “teams and test operating plans, technologies, and Games workforce.”

The Games time, covering October of 2033 until March of 2034. The period covers the Winter Olympics in February of 2034 and the Paralympics that will follow shortly afterward. The work will include:

• The delivery of the Games and the engaging of operations for the event.
• The staging of the “Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays, competitions, ceremonies, etc., including the transitions between the Games.”

The dissolution and the legacy, starting in 2034 and running indefinitely. The Games Plan says work will continue “with partner and legacy organizations to realize post-Games benefits as the (organizing committee) winds down.”

Each of the steps in both of the strategic horizons will have impacts in Park City and Summit County. Three competition venues — Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park — are in the Park City area. The community will also be critical to the organizing committee’s plans for transportation, security and celebrations.

In many cases, the steps outlined in the Games Plan will involve officials at the city and county levels. They will also involve the management at the competition venues and various interest groups. The leadership of Main Street, as an example, would likely play a role should celebration plans involve the shopping, dining and entertainment strip, while tourism officials would be anticipated to work with the other parties to ensure the crowds are welcomed.

The selection process for the Games of 2034 changed between 2002 Winter Olympic era, when that edition of the Games was awarded nearly seven years in advance of the opening ceremony. In the current era, the selection was made nearly 10 years before the event, giving the organizing committee that much more time to plan.

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Main Street was one of the attractions during the 2002 Winter Olympics and it will almost certainly draw the crowds when the Games return in 2034, though the specifics of the street’s eventual Winter Olympic role are not known.

Utah 2034, the committee organizing the Winter Olympics, this week released a document called the Games Plan, covering numerous topics related to the upcoming work in the region. The Games Plan uses the term “live sites” as it addresses the celebrations that will be planned alongside the competitions.

The document provides limited details about the possibilities of the live sites, but the inclusion is notable nonetheless.

Live sites are typically centralized locations where crowds gather to celebrate large special events like an Olympics. They usually involve entertainment, sponsor installations, photo opportunities and other attractions. Live sites also are oftentimes free to attend, meaning people with or without tickets to the actual special events can be part of the excitement.

Park City is expected to be one of the central hubs of the 2034 Games. Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park are identified as competition venues. The community will also be crucial to the transportation, security and celebration plans. Main Street is widely expected to be an important element to the overall plans for the Park City area.

The efforts to date have been at a high level, with the bid committee that secured the Games and the organizing committee addressing tasks like creating the conceptual venue map, the fundraising work and relationship building. The Games Plan released this week continues that work but also broaches topics that will be important as various parties begin considering the early details.

The passages in the Games Plan noting live sites include:

• “Collaborate with Utah communities to design celebrations and live sites that welcome everyone to experience the spirit of the Games.”
• “Collaborate with cities and commercial partners to deliver a statewide network of live sites and city celebrations that extend the Games experience beyond competition venues and provide free or low-cost access to Games viewing and celebration. Public live sites provide unique opportunities for communities and commercial partners to showcase how they interpret and interact with the Games and its brand.”

The organizing committee this week said there is not a precise timeline for the operational elements of the Games, such as the design of the live sites. Operational elements like live sites are anticipated to be crafted in 2030 and 2031, the organizing committee said.

It seems certain the eventual planning for live sites would involve heavy consideration of Main Street for one of the locations. The shopping, dining and entertainment strip is a natural gathering spot during large events, offering a quaint, scenic backdrop for crowds. It is also within walking distance to the venues at Park City Mountain and Deer Valley, and on bus routes that will be important during the Games.

Main Street has been a traditional anchor during large events like the Park City Kimball Arts Festival and Sundance Film Festival as well as for celebrations such as Independence Day and Miners Day.

The street was also the location of a pedestrianized celebration zone during the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The celebration zone 24 years ago was wildly popular, drawing more than 500,000 people. There were temporary sponsor setups like a Coca-Cola pin-trading building and a Chevy Hot Zone, the Budweiser Clydesdales wowed the crowds and there were fireworks in the evenings. Main Street during the Games in 2002 likely provided a preview at some level of a sort of live site that could be considered for 2034.

Any discussions in Park City about live sites, perhaps one on Main Street, would ultimately need to address a wide range of issues. The organizers of a live site on Main Street, as an example, would have to ensure there remains access to businesses, residences and lodging properties. There would likely be some sort of restricted vehicular access to the neighborhood surrounding Main Street. The programming — possibly temporary sponsor installations, concerts and video boards — would need to be devised. Logistical matters, like deliveries to businesses and access to the Main Street post office, would also require planning.

Some of the interest groups that would be involved in the discussions include business owners in the Main Street core, the workforce, Old Town residents and the organizing committee itself.

The Park City municipal government is in the early stages of preparing for the Games and sent a delegation to the Winter Olympics in Italy in February. The travelers learned about aspects of the planning and execution of a Games, including the celebrations. The Alpine community of Cortina d’Ampezzo, an internationally known mountain resort, was of special interest since it in some ways resembles Park City.

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The organizing committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Games celebrated Olympic Day by publishing the first edition of its 2034 Games plan, titled Utah 2034 Games Plan Version 1.

It’s the first installment of what the committee sees as an annually updated document designed to inform stakeholders and the public and to solicit feedback.

“Our Games Plan is a discussion document designed to serve as a framework for engagement with our stakeholder communities,” said Utah 2034 Vice President of Games Delivery Darren Hughes. “We’re on a journey to 2034, and we want our stakeholders and delivery partners to come along with us. The Utah 2034 Games Plan informs us of our direction and what elements are important to us, but it is also a tool for us to gauge what’s important for the public.”

The committee said its built the Games Plan as an overarching strategic roadmap. It highlights the Utah 2034 Games vision and how the committee and partners will realize it.

The Games Plan is organized into five portfolios: Impact, Experience, Engage, Deliver, and Enable.

The core of the document is derived from the Future Host Questionnaire developed by the former bid committee in 2024 and enhanced with information the committe has learned since.

With the Games still nearly eight years out, a Games Lifecycle outlines key periods of planning, readiness and execution. From now until 2030, referred to as Strategic Horizon One, the committee is focused on establishing the organizational, financial, partnership and planning foundations needed to move Utah 2034 from an early transition to confident, integrated Games planning.

Beginning in 2030, Strategic Horizon Two will take the organization through operational planning and readiness processes, the delivery of the 2034 Winter Games and the transition to Games legacy realization.

A full copy of Utah 2034 Games Plan V1 is available below or on the organizing committee’s website at utah2034.org. The committee welcomes feedback through info@utah2034.org.

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The organizing committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games on Wednesday announced a series of organizational changes that the committee’s board confirmed at its virtual meeting on Tuesday.

Abby Osborne has been named vice president of impact, engagement and enterprise operations, and Darren Hughes is now vice president of games delivery. Vice President of Development and Athlete Relations Catherine Raney Norman has stepped down, and two-time Olympic short track speed skater Julie Letai has been named to the new role of athlete experience coordinator.

Osborne will join Utah 2034 on Aug. 1. She has since 2019 served as chief of staff for the Utah House of Representatives. The committee said she has been a key architect of organizational strategy and an advisor to state leadership on some of Utah’s most significant policy and operational priorities. She has nearly 25 years of leadership experience spanning government, business, infrastructure and public affairs. In accordance with the organizing committee’s bylaws, Osborne will relinquish her board membership as she joins Utah 2034 full time.

Darren Hughes has served as vice president of operations and planning for the organizing committee since its inception in early 2025. He’s now vice president of games delivery. Hughes is one of the most experienced leaders in Olympic and Paralympic sport, having worked on over 20 major international events, including every Winter Games since 2002.

“Since launching the organizing committee, we have continually evaluated how our team is structured to best support our work in preparing for the 2034 Winter Games,” said CEO Brad Wilson. “Both Abby and Darren will bring great value to our organizational structure and will each play a vital role for Utah 2034 over the next seven-and-a-half years.”

Osborne will lead Utah 2034’s impact, engagement and enterprise operations portfolio, helping shape the long-term legacy of the Games while building the organizational capacity required to deliver them. She will oversee the organizing committee’s sustainability, impact and legacy initiatives, as well as communications, government and community relations, youth and education programs, and enterprise operations. Osborne will be responsible for developing and scaling many of the functions that support the organizing committee’s day-to-day work, growing a team that will encompass thousands of staff and volunteers by the time the Games arrive in 2034. Hughes will focus his efforts on leading all aspects of Games planning and delivery.

“As we transition from a startup organization into one that will eventually support thousands of employees and volunteers, we need leaders who can build both culture and capability,” said Wilson. “Abby is uniquely qualified to help lead that growth and ensure Utah 2034 delivers an impact that extends far beyond the Games themselves.”

Osborne said the opportunity to help lead Utah 2034 is both professionally and personally meaningful.

“The Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games have the power to inspire, unite communities and create lasting impact for future generations,” Osborne said. “I look forward to working alongside this incredible team to build an organization that not only delivers exceptional Games in 2034 but also strengthens Utah’s position as a winter sports capital for decades to come.”

Raney Norman, meanwhile, is stepping down from her role as vice president of development and athlete relations.

“Utah 2034 extends its sincere gratitude to Catherine for her successful leadership through the bid process and her dedication to creating the groundbreaking philanthropic program known as Podium34. Her contributions have helped set a strong foundation for the organizing committee,” said Wilson. 

Raney Norman said that serving the Olympic and Paralympic movement and helping bring the Games back to Utah has been one of the greatest honors of her life.

“This work has always been deeply personal to me because at its center are the athletes, their families and the belief that sport can create hope, connection and lasting impact within our communities,” Raney Norman said. “I’m incredibly proud of what we built together, from the vision of Podium34 to creating new opportunities to support athletes and their families through an athletes’ families program.” 

Letai, who has been named to the new role of athlete experience coordinator, earned a spot on the national team in 2019, competing in Beijing and Milano Cortina. A recent graduate of the University of Utah, Letai will draw on her background as an Olympian and recent academic success to support the organizing committee’s planning and ensure athlete engagement.

A Massachusetts native, Letai has been based in Utah for many years and trained as an athlete at the Utah Olympic Oval.

“Athletes are at the center of what we do as an Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee,” said Wilson. “Julie will have an opportunity to engage in our planning process now to help us best innovate on behalf of athletes for the Games in 2034.”

Letai said she is inspired by the opportunity to contribute to the Olympic Movement in a completely new way.

“I hope my previous experiences as an Olympic athlete will help shape the 2034 Winter Games into the most rewarding experience it can be for athletes, their friends and families,” Letai said. “The organization has already shown me a lot of support, and I’m excited about the goals and priorities we’ve set in these beginning stages of planning.”

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It cost Park City taxpayers nearly $27,000 to send an official delegation from the municipal government to the Winter Olympics in Italy, a summary provided to The Park Record shows.

Mayor Ryan Dickey, Park City Councilor Tana Toly and Jodi Emery, who was the acting city manager at the time of the trip and has since returned to a deputy city manager role, traveled to the Games as part of the delegation.

The dollar figure — $26,889.23 — is the total cost of the three. The municipal government said airfare, lodging and meals were the top spending categories.

The delegation participated in an observers program organized by the International Olympic Committee designed for figures involved in the planning of a future Games. The Park City travelers joined others from Utah on fact-finding missions as part of the effort to prepare for the Winter Olympics in 2034.

The Milano Cortina Games were notable as the first Winter Olympics since the the 2034 Games were awarded to Utah, and it being one of only two Winter Olympics prior to 2034.

“We heard from Utah 2034 that it was important for us to be part of that,” Dickey said about the observers program.

Funds for the trips by the three officials came from an earmark in the municipal budget meant for Games preparations.

City Councilors Bill Ciraco and Diego Zegarra attended the Games as well but did not travel as part of the official delegation. They paid for the trips themselves and did not seek reimbursement. Both of them earlier indicated they would self-fund their trips.

Travel to both the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics is a standard practice for a community planning to host a Games. Officials are able to witness, in person, the successes and challenges of staging a Games. They typically learn about transportation systems, security, business trends and the celebration. The observations can then help guide some of the subsequent planning.

Dickey described the trip as an “every-day grind” and said the travelers opted for lodging well outside Cortina d’Ampezzo, one of the Alpine venue communities, to reduce costs.

“This was a work trip. I was happy when it was over,” he said, describing the commute between the lodging and Cortina d’Ampezzo as taking approximately one hour by bus.

The Games in Italy were the second observation opportunity for Park City, following the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The mayor at that time, Nann Worel, traveled to the French capital for research purposes and to be in attendance as the IOC awarded the Games of 2034 to Salt Lake City.

It seems likely Park City will send officials to the upcoming Games — the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps and the 2032 Summer Olympics in Brisbane, Australia — as well. Travel was also one of the key sources of information as an earlier generation of Park City officials planned for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The Park City area will have a significant role in the Games of 2034 with Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park identified as competition venues. The community is expected to be crucial to the transportation, security and celebration plans. Park City is in the early stages of preparations.

The Park City travelers in the official delegation to Italy spent time in various locations across the Games region, but there seemed to be special interest in the Alpine community of Cortina d’Ampezzo, one of the locations where competitions were held. It is an internationally known mountain resort that in some ways resembles Park City.

During the Games in February, Toly reported learning about transportation and infrastructure with observations in Cortina d’Ampezzo. She said, as an example, “Even with strict vehicle limits in Cortina proper, moving people was hard. Narrow roads. Venues spread out. Long travel times. You could feel the strain on the system.” 

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