Salt Lake City awarded 2034 Winter Olympics rights
Salt Lake City was formally awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics and Paralympics following a vote on Wednesday by the International Olympic Committee in Paris, giving the US state of Utah its second Games after hosting in 2002. About a thousand sports fans gathered in downtown Salt Lake City in ski gear in the summer heat, while others donned Team USA merchandise and waved flags with the Olympic rings.  The crowd erupted in cheers as Olympic officials made their final decision to return to a city where they said the local enthusiasm was palpable even two decades after it first hosted. Utah's capital city was the only candidate for 2034 after the Olympic committee gave Salt Lake City exclusive negotiating rights last year. Climate change and high operational costs have reduced the number of cities willing and able to welcome the Winter Games. (AP)