The moment of truth is approaching for the State of Utah. On 24 July in Paris, the future of the region and the Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 Winter Games, the leading candidate to host the event for the second time in just 32 years (the last time was in 2002), will be decided.

Fraser Bullock, President of the Utah Committee, and Catherine Raney Norman, Chair of the Board, will lead the delegation to France to make a 30-minute presentation to IOC members in an effort to secure the return of the 2034 Winter Games to Utah. 

They will be joined by the Governor of Utah, the Mayor of Salt Lake City, the President of the US Paralympic Committee, Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn and Paralympian Dani Aravich.

Around 3am Mountain Standard Time, we will know if Utah has officially been awarded the 2034 Winter Games and if all the hard work of the past few years has borne fruit.

If Utah is awarded the 2034 Olympic Winter Games, the projected economic impact is in the billions of dollars. State officials estimate the impact at a staggering $6.6 billion (€6bn).

A new report by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah has published figures that will excite the delegation of athletes, elected officials and Salt Lake City Utah Games Committee staff who will be defending the bid in the French capital.

The benefits to the state would be so significant that the next decade would be characterised by growth for the state if it is awarded the 27th Winter Olympics.

The report outlines a cumulative economic impact of approximately $6.6 billion and nearly $3.9 billion in state gross domestic product (GDP), a significant figure that will accompany the legacy of the Games in the Utah community.

The economic impact will be felt immediately and over the next 12 years, with two-thirds of the impact occurring during the 2034 Games.

Utah has proposed to use existing infrastructure to meet current IOC guidelines. The sites include the Olympic Oval in Kearns, the Utah Olympic Park in Park City and the Soldier Hollow Nordic Centre in Midway.

The existing infrastructure provides cost savings and environmental benefits that not many countries can offer. John Downen, Senior Research Fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Institute and lead author of the report, notes that the permanent infrastructure investment for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics was $286.7 million (€262.5m), while for the 2034 Games it would be about $31.2 million (€28.6m), which is very modest by Olympic standards.

The upcoming Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics cost well over €2 billion, providing a benchmark for the current cost of the Winter Games in northern Italy compared to what would be spent in the United States if it were awarded the organisation.

However, budgeting from an office and executing are two different things, as Olympic budgets are often overspent. "They are the only type of project that has never come in under budget, ever," the report says.

Bullock, who was also on the Utah organising committee in 2002, said he gets goose bumps thinking about being in Paris in 10 days. "I hope you can feel our passion and excitement," Bullock said. "I think our biggest challenge is not to cry, because sometimes when I see these pictures and hear others talk about it, it just tears at my heart."