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- The 2034 Winter Olympics in Utah will be branded as "Utah 2034," as announced in November.
- IOC President Kirsty Coventry expressed her support of the name change, citing other similar recent examples.
- Reactions have varied, with local leaders expressing disappointment and support for both the name and logo design.
SALT LAKE CITY — When the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2034 Winter Games a year and a half ago, the host was announced as Salt Lake City, Utah.
But now those Games are going by a new name, "Utah 2034." Late last month, the Organizing Committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games unveiled the new name and logo to mixed reviews.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry, though, is on board and suggested it's not that unique to have a state as a host. Since Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Games, the IOC has relaxed its rules to allow multiple cities, regions or even countries to put their names on a Games.
"We have a couple of other examples," Coventry said, citing the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, a province in South Korea, and the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps, as "all very similar" to Utah now being the sole host in 2034.
She said decisions like the new name for the 2034 Winter Games, as well as those that come as a result of the sweeping ongoing review of IOC polices underway at her direction, have to benefit both the organizers and the IOC.
"When it comes to the partnerships with the organizing committees," the IOC wants to "look at all possibilities and analyze which is going to be the most successful possibility for them and for us," Coventry said.
"And I think right now the conversations are going very well, and I'm very supportive of the decisions that have been made today," she said in response to a Deseret News question about the new name for the 2034 Games.
Coventry, elected earlier this year as the first woman and first African to lead the Switzerland-based IOC, spoke to reporters following two days of IOC Executive Board meetings that included updates on the policy reviews.
The Utah 2034 name and logo were previously approved by the IOC. In Utah, the reaction has ranged from Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall's disappointment over the city's name being dropped to complaints about the legibility of the stylized logo.
Even Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has said the design is too "bold" for him as a conservative. Cox, however, has championed the Utah 2034 name, telling the Deseret News many in the state felt "kind of shut out" of the Games hosted by Salt Lake City in 2002.
The name comes as the state plays a larger role in the Olympics this time around. While it's expected to stay the same through 2034, the logo has already been labeled transitional and is set to be replaced in three years.
