PLEASANT GROVE — The Olympics highlight incredible athleticism from all around the globe, but they also give the host country a chance to celebrate its culture and showcase what makes it unique on the world stage.
A Cultural Olympiad is a program of artistic and cultural events that occurs alongside the Olympic and Paralympic games. Since last year’s announcement that Salt Lake City will host the Olympics and Paralympics again in 2034, the Olympic Organizing Committee has been hard at work determining how to represent the Beehive State this time.
To kick off the cultural and athletic collaboration, athletes and Olympic officials attended “An American in Paris” at The Ruth and Nathan Hale Theater in Pleasant Grove on Saturday to “bring together a blend of art and sport,” said Catherine Raney Norman, a four-time Olympic speed skater who competed in Salt Lake in 2002.
Norman, who now serves as vice president of development and athlete relations for the 2034 Olympics, said Utah had a strong Cultural Olympiad in 2002, but Utah’s cultural and arts communities continue to grow and need to be highlighted further, she said.
“Sometimes we think sports and arts communities are different, but they really are quite similar. To see the performers in ‘An American in Paris’ and just the incredible athleticism and precision they bring to their work, it was really a special evening for us all,” Norman said.
A vibrant community
Just like how ballerinas performed during the artistic gymnastics competition at the Paris games, the worlds of sports and arts are starting to blend together in a great way, Norman said. These upcoming games, Norman hopes, the spirit, character and “warmth” of Utahns can be displayed.
“Utah has a vibrancy within our artistic community and a sort of youthful and modern vibe to it. I’m hoping we can showcase that and be able to display just how Utah has changed since 2002, but also that vibrancy and youthful aspect that is kind of hidden — I think most people across the country maybe don’t know about. To bring that forward is something I’m excited for,” Norman said.
Olympian Kaysha Love competed in the 2022 Games and recently became the 2025 world champion in bobsled. Love spoke at the banquet about her sister, who has been creating a documentary on her athletic achievements for the last two years, following her through training and to the world championships.
“It was really exciting to see our two dreams come together: hers behind the lens and mine on the ice. It really showed this perfect example of what hard work looks like on both platforms,” Love said.
Other athletes shared about photography, writing a book and other artistic endeavors outside of their sport. As someone normally on the front end of representing the community, Love said it was an incredible opportunity to be on the back end and see the dancers and performers representing Utah.
A native of Herriman, Love said it was a special experience to connect with athletes and artists who share passions while also celebrating the uniqueness of Utah. She loved seeing how much the community was backing the shared goal of the Olympics, representing Utah well.
“Most people don’t recognize that there is so much culture in sport,” Love said. “Growing up in Utah, I think a lot of people think we have a lack of diversity, a lack of culture, and so to witness the incredible culture that I saw in that room was amazing, and to be able to share some of my story and why I feel that Utah was so special to me.”
Chasing legacy
The cultural aspect of the Games goes hand in hand with the athletic competition, Love said. As a member of the delegation that presented Utah’s bid to the International Olympic Committee in Paris last year, Love said the 2034 Games have the opportunity to be very memorable.
“Culture and art and athletics, those are things that really make people feel. Athlete culture and the people make you feel the Olympic spirit,” Love said. “I think when our state comes together like I know it will, these Games are going to be Games that people talk about for a very long time.”
At 27 years old and the current world champion in monobob bobsled, Love is in a great position for the Winter Olympics next year.
“After 2022, I did not walk away with the gold and dreams I had intended for those games. So it’s crazy to think what these new fresh set of goals and the new position I am in within bobsled and the momentum from previous seasons of how it’s all coming together and the excitement of knowing we get another opportunity to bring those goals forward and represent out community, our state, our loved ones,” Love said.
The Games returning to Utah “feels so full circle” for Love. While the 2022 and 2026 games are about chasing goals and the Olympic dream, she thinks the 2034 games will be about “chasing legacy.” She says it would be “a dream” to compete in those Games, as she started her career in Salt Lake City and could finish it in the same place.
“The Salt Lake 2034 delegation has done a great job of recognizing the legacy that Salt Lake City has on Olympic sports as a whole. Whether I’m an athlete or just behind the scenes … that legacy gets to comes back, and I think it’ll be the coolest thing,” Love said. “(2034) will be about chasing that legacy and show the next generation that greatness isn’t built overnight but over time.”
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
