Lindsey Vonn Says Salt Lake City Is Sustainable Choice for 2034 Winter Olympics

The former professional skier is confident that the Utah capital is the best option for the games.

Lindsey Vonn / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

For months now, former professional alpine skier Lindsey Vonn has been making the case for Salt Lake City as the host of the 2034 Winter Olympics. On July 24, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) brought her hard work to fruition with the announcement that the winter games will officially take place in the Utah capital.

According to Vonn, a member of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, the move makes sense for a number of reasons. For one, “We have the infrastructure from 2002,” she told People. “When we had the Olympics in 2002, they created an endowment to help maintain all of the Olympic venues. And we host international competitions at pretty much every venue every year. And all of our venues are incredibly well maintained, and that’s not normal.”

By maintaining and reusing the venues, Utah distinguished itself as a preferred host for another games—and became an example of sustainable practices in post-Olympic years. One of the common problems found in host cities following the games is the disuse of the infrastructure built for competition and athlete housing. That has not been the case in Salt Lake City—a big win for sustainability efforts.

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But that isn’t the only environmental consideration when it comes to the winter games. Since many of the events rely on the availability of snow, finding a venue that is guaranteed to have the right conditions is paramount. “I think with global warming, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find venues that have enough natural snow and can guarantee that in February we can host the Olympics,” Vonn said. In that regard, Salt Lake City is a promising choice.

As a member of the planning team, the 39-year-old has ambitious plans for the 2034 games. In addition to the usual athlete housing, Vonn wants to provide a family village where family members of athletes can stay. The idea was born of her own family’s experience at the winter games in Salt Lake City in 2002. That year, “my family had a hard time finding a place to stay,” she explained. “You think of how many people are coming into that city to spectate, where are the families going to go? They can’t pay a premium on the big hotels. My family stayed at my second cousin’s house in Salt Lake City and slept on the floor.”

Over the next 10 years, there’s no doubt Vonn will be working hard to ensure that the 2034 Winter Olympics are a success. With her at the discussion table, we are confident that they will be.