SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Organizers of the Salt Lake City 2034 Winter Games announced a fundraising effort on Monday that they say is the largest philanthropic campaign supporting a host city in Olympic and Paralympic history. The initiative, branded as Podium34, has raised more than $200 million and will fund community engagement programs surrounding the Games. It covers roughly a tenth of the $2.84 billion operating budget projected by organizers.
“We now launch what is the most impressive start to a Games this country, this world has even seen,” Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said at an event celebrating the initiative. The announcement helps ease the worries of Olympic officials who had questioned whether the state could meet its fundraising goals just