The News
Utah’s Salt Lake City will host the 2034 Winter Olympic Games, bringing the competition back to the city after 32 years. It was the only contender for 2034. The 2030 Games went to the Pyrenees.
The decision is a chance for redemption — the first Salt Lake Games in 2002 were marked by a bribery scandal that prompted a change in how Olympic host cities are chosen.
But the International Olympic Committee said it reserves the right to withdraw Salt Lake City’s award if US authorities don’t respect the “supreme authority” of the World Anti-Doping Agency, AFP reported, hitting at an ongoing federal US investigation into Chinese swimmers who tested positive for doping ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the WADA’s decision not to discipline them, The New York Times reported.
SIGNALS
IOC pulled a ‘stunning power move’ with WADA clause
In awarding the Games to Salt Lake City, the International Olympic Committee pulled a “stunning power move” that’s rare even for spiky Olympic diplomacy, The Associated Press reported. The IOC added a clause to the contract that demands Utah officials work with US lawmakers “to alleviate… concerns” and cancel a federal investigation into doping — effectively asking government officials to lobby on its behalf to stop probing the WADA, or risk losing the Games. The head of the US anti-doping agency said in a statement the IOC was “stooping to threats,” while Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Demoratic Rep. Frank Pallone, who are the chair and ranking member of the US Energy and Commerce Committee, said the reports “cast further doubt on WADA.”
Sports competitions are not as attractive as they used to be
Salt Lake City was the only bidder to the 2034 Games because of an old exclusivity clause, but in general, more countries are choosing not to try and host the Games — which are increasingly synonymous with “overspending, corruption, and autocratic regimes,” The Atlantic wrote. In some countries, there have been broadly documented human rights issues directly connected to the Games, and they lose host nations significant amounts of money — both of which have prompted questions as to whether they’re worth having at all. It’s not just an Olympic issue: other sports competitions, like the Commonwealth Games, and the FIFA World Cup are similarly tainted, The Telegraph noted.
Winter Games faces growing climate threat
Only 15 countries meet the criteria to host the Winter Games today, and climate change will likely cause that number to shrink to 10 by 2040, the IOC president has previously said. The IOC is considering measures like a decentralized hosting model, or a rotation among a permanent pool of hosts, to reduce the environmental impact of the competition. But before looking so far into the future, winter sports will have to grapple with the already present effects of global warming, like meager snow seasons and growing extremes, Sports Business Journal noted. Governing bodies and athletes have turned to activism to push for meaningful political action against climate change — with little success.