A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
Thirty years ago today, Utahns began their Olympic legacy.
The quest to host an Olympic Winter Games had been dreamed about for many years. Previous bids had been started, and this time around, Salt Lake City was the favorite to earn a nod.
But nothing was for sure, so there was plenty of nervous energy on the morning of June 16, 1995, as International Olympic Committee members met in Budapest, Hungary, to award the 2002 Games.
And so on that day, according to Deseret News accounts, for the first time ever, a city bidding for the Olympic Winter Games beat its competition in the first round of balloting by the International Olympic Committee.
Fifty-four of the first 92 votes cast that day went to Salt Lake City.
Back in Salt Lake City, thousands of people on the grounds of the City-County Building spontaneously shouted with joy on news of the successful 2002 Winter Olympic bid.
There had been challenges along the way, an Olympic scandal with some IOC delegates that served as a catalyst to overhaul how the International Olympic Committee chooses where the Games will go.
“After this scandal, I believe that the IOC as a whole must accept that the system needs to change and that we can’t continue like this,” IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch told a Swiss newspaper as the years went by.
The next 6½ years flew by, and in February 2002, Salt Lake City and northern Utah hosted an amazing Olympic Games.
And now Utah will host the 2034 Games, another feather in the cap of the Beehive State.
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives leading up to that first announcement:
"As for Salt Lake’s bid, 5th time’s a frenzy”
"Times says others knew of payments"
“Pretty, great news at last for S.L — this is the place”
“Announcement adds a sense of urgency to S.L. Olympic bid”
"A celebration that’s worth its ‘Salt ...’“
"Scrapbook of the 20th Century: June 17, 1995: Salt Lake City is awarded the 2002 Winter Olympics"
"Utah’s ‘secret sauce’ keeps Olympic venues viable 15 years after Games"
