An International Olympic Committee delegation arrived in the Park City area on Thursday under brilliant blue skies and with ample snow remaining on the slopes for spring skiing.

The weather created a spectacular backdrop for what was billed as a highly important visit by the Future Host Commission of the IOC as the Lausanne, Switzerland-based organization prepares to select the city where the 2034 Winter Olympic will be held. The Future Host Commission, which has an influential role in the selection of cities for the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics, spent much of Thursday in the Park City area and in Wasatch County as part of a four-day fact-finding mission to the state. The work started on Wednesday and is scheduled to end on Saturday.

Stops at Park City Mountain and the Utah Olympic Park on Thursday were similar in nature. The Future Host Commission met a roster of government leaders, tourism officials and representatives of the locations proposed to be competition venues under the concept crafted by the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games. There were brief statements about the community’s work to reduce the impact of the tourism industry and a concise history of Park City Mountain’s ski-racing past.

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The day, at least outwardly, appeared to be designed as much for exchanging friendly platitudes as offering an opportunity for local leaders to engage the IOC delegation in discussion about the overarching plan to hold a second Games in the state.

The IOC members moved across the Wasatch Back from midmorning through the middle of the afternoon. They did not spend extensive time at any of the three proposed Park City-area competition venues — Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park. The stop at Park City Mountain was held at the McGrath Mountain Center, with windows overlooking terrain proposed as a Winter Olympics competition venue.

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Questions from the IOC members in view of the media and answers from the various parties in attendance were brief. The IOC contingent, as an example, inquired about the Park City-area lodging industry, drawing an answer from Jennifer Wesselhof, executive director of the Park City Chamber/Bureau, explaining that there are numerous units in the nightly rental pool in addition to traditional hotels.

Deirdra Walsh, the vice president and chief operating officer of Park City Mountain, said it would be thrilling to welcome the return of the Winter Olympics. She spoke about the 7,000-plus acres of terrain at Park City Mountain and mentioned the resort’s role as a venue during the 2002 Winter Olympics and as the location of the America’s Opening ski races years ago. She recalled the U.S. medal sweep in the men’s snowboarding halfpipe competition at Park City Mountain in 2002.

Wesselhoff provided a briefing about the area’s efforts toward “sustainable tourism.” She said the sustainable tourism work involves a 10-year plan that runs through the 2034 Winter Olympics, describing a desire for a balanced tourism-based economy. Wesselhoff also said Park City draws an international clientele that in the pre-pandemic era accounted for 12% of visitors.

“Park City welcomes the world,” she said.

The delegation stopped at Deer Valley for lunch and a brief meeting. Mayor Nann Worel and Todd Bennett, the Deer Valley president and chief operating officer, were in attendance. The Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games said the meeting was held at Snow Park Lodge and the IOC delegation viewed the terrain proposed as a competition venue. The IOC members also visited Soldier Hollow in Wasatch County, another proposed competition venue.

The IOC members traveled to Utah at a critical time as the group bidding for a second Winter Olympics in the state continues its work. The Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, which accompanied the delegation, in February submitted upward of 5,000 pages of documentation to the IOC detailing the plans to host a Games. The preferred host submission includes highlights such as the concepts for the competition venues and the plans for staffing an eventual Olympic organizing committee.

The visit occurred in the months before the full IOC is expected to name Salt Lake City the host of the Games of 2034 during meetings in Paris just before the opening of the Summer Olympics in the French capital. The IOC in November identified Salt Lake City as the preferred host for the event in 2034.

The Park City area is crucial to the blueprints for a second Winter Olympics, as was the case during the Games of 2002. Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park would be key competition venues while the area would also be heavily involved in the security, transportation and celebration planning.