A delegation from the International Olympic Committee on Saturday continued to praise the efforts to host a second Winter Olympics in Utah, touching on a range of topics during remarks to the media as it finished a four-day visit to the state.

The Future Host Commission has an important role in the selection of cities for the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics. The delegation spent time in the Park City area on Thursday as the IOC members toured potential competition venues and met with government leaders, winter-sports figures and others.

The remarks on Saturday, delivered in downtown Salt Lake City, were some of the most extensive public statements of the visit and were overwhelmingly positive.

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The Future Host Commission trip to the state was scheduled at a crucial time for the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, the group mounting the bid for the Winter Olympics in 2034, with the likelihood the full IOC will award the event of that year during meetings in Paris in July on the eve of the Summer Olympics in the French capital.

The chair of the Future Host Commission, Karl Stoss, spoke extensively about the delegation’s work in Utah during the visit. He talked about the “outstanding venues” the delegation toured, described the “shining examples” of the legacy from the 2002 Winter Olympics and acknowledged the various parties involved in the state’s bid, including the owners and operators of the proposed competition venues.

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“This is the right way to do it,” he said.

Stoss called the state’s plans for a second Games a role model for future host cities and described the task of organizing a Winter Olympics in Utah as being less complex than elsewhere. He briefly addressed the potential impact of a changing climate on the Winter Olympics, saying it will be challenging. He said the IOC is confident Utah will be able to host a Winter Olympics until 2050. Stoss did not speak in any depth about climate change. He also noted a compact map of the proposed venues, something that has long been seen as one of the Salt Lake City bid’s advantages.

Stoss provided a brief outline of the upcoming work that needs to be accomplished before the IOC Session in Paris from July 22 until July 24, when the award of the Games of 2034 to Salt Lake City is expected. He said a report about the trip to Utah will be prepared and discussions are needed with winter-sports federations.

A meeting of the leadership of the IOC is planned in the middle of June to present the findings of the delegation’s mission to Utah, followed by the election of the 2034 host city during the IOC session. The IOC at that time is also expected to award the 2030 Winter Olympics to French Alps region.

Another member of the IOC delegation, Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi, called Salt Lake City and the surrounding region a “hidden treasure.”

Jacqueline Barrett, the IOC’s future Olympic Games hosts director, pointed to the possibility of the Winter Olympics of 2034 being “transformative” for the movement.

Fraser Bullock, the president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, noted the bid is not in competition with other cities and the work is being conducted in partnership with the IOC. The selection process of Olympic cities has been significantly modified from the one that was in place when the Winter Olympics of 2002 were awarded. The current method relies heavily on an ongoing dialogue between the IOC and potential host cities. The IOC in November tapped Salt Lake City as the preferred host for the Games of 2034.

The chair of the board of directors of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Gene Sykes, said there would be a unique opportunity if the Games of 2034 were awarded to Salt Lake City with the nation already preparing for the 2028 Summer Olympics, slated for Los Angeles. There would be a “continuum” if the two events are in the United States, he said, comparing that possibility to the period when the nation hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and then the Games of 2002 in Salt Lake City.

The Park City area would be key to the overall plans of a second Winter Olympics, as in 2002. Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park are identified on the concept map for the competition venues, while the area would also be important to the transportation, security and celebration plans.