Local organizers in Utah by December will "know if they made the final cut" in their bid for an upcoming Winter Games, according to Julie Jag of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. That is when the IOC plans to "enter into targeted talks with its preferred host" for the '30 Games, as selected by its Future Host Commission. The IOC also may "begin talks with the preferred host" of the '34 Games at that time. IOC Exec Dir for the Olympic Games Christophe Dubi on Friday said that that the commission will "spend the summer whittling down its choices" for '30. The "serious candidates at the moment" are Sapporo, Japan; Vancouver, Canada; and Salt Lake City. A delegation from Utah and the USOPC next month will "travel to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne to press their case." That will "mark the first opportunities for local organizers to meet with IOC members in person." Salt Lake City’s proposal for '30 carries an estimated price tag of $2.2B, which Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games President & CEO Fraser Bullock has "promised will not be borne by taxpayers." Pushing the date back to '34 would "bring it closer" to $2.6B, still "one of the least expensive of the candidates." Many outside observers have said that they believe Sapporo is the "favorite to win" the '30 bid. That stems from the "belief the IOC 'owes' Japan another Olympics after it shouldered most of the cost" for postponing the '20 Tokyo Games a year (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 5/25).
