Cheers were heard in Salt Lake City at 4:22am local time Wednesday—when confirmation came through that the Utah city would serve as host to the 2034 Winter Games. The city previously hosted the Olympics in 2002, and NBC News reports the venues that will be used a decade from now either are already in place or will be temporary structures, "thus not saddling local taxpayers with ongoing costs or an underutilized facility," according to city officials. It'll be the second time the US hosts the Games over the next decade, with the Summer Olympics slated for Los Angeles in 2028. More:
- Last-minute hurdle: "We were just cruising towards the final award and then this came up and we had to address it," says Salt Lake City bid head Fraser Bullock in reference to last-minute concerns from the International Olympic Committee about whether US authorities might clash with the World Anti-Doping Agency. In early July the Department of Justice opened a probe into alleged doping by Chinese swimmers. The move has been viewed as undercutting the power of the agency, which the New York Times reports allowed two dozen Chinese swimmers to compete at the Tokyo Games despite their positive tests for banned substances.