Four cities made the shortlist with their bids to host the 2002 Winter Olympics (formally known as XIX Olympic Winter Games), which were awarded to Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, on June 16, 1995.

[1] The host city selection procedure to for the 2002 Winter Olympics faced a scandal regarding the interactions between the Salt Lake City bid team and International Olympic Committee (IOC) members; ten IOC members resigned as a result, as did Salt Lake City bid leaders Tom Welch and Dave Johnson.

Nevertheless, Salt Lake City overwhelmingly won the right to host the Games, needing only one round to gain the absolute majority of the votes.

From both sporting and business standpoints, this was one of the most successful Winter Olympic Games in history; records were set in both the broadcasting and marketing programs.

The surplus was used to create the Utah Athletic Foundation, which maintains and operates many of the remaining Olympic venues.