Salt Lake City, the 2002 host, has emerged as a frontrunner to stage the 2030 or 2034 edition, with other interested cities facing issues with their bids.

Those difficulties have led to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) delaying its plans to appoint a host city for the 2030 Games at this year's Session in Mumbai, with a potential double award with 2034 and the staging of the multi-sport events on a rotational basis among a pool of host cities both under consideration in response to growing climatic challenges.

The Utah State Legislature unanimously passed Bills that support efforts to stage another Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and authorises the Governor to "sign agreements and make other assurances" in relation to the event, which could pave the way for taxpayer funding should costs overrun.

After the approval of the Bills, Hirshland vowed that the Games would return to Salt Lake City in 2030 or 2034.

"There are not going to be bids that look more attractive to the [IOC] than Salt Lake City, so we'll get the Games back," she insisted, as reported by Salt Lake City-based KSL.

She insisted that the 2034 edition remained the preference if there are other "viable bids" for four years earlier to avoid a clash with sponsorships for the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in the US.

However, she said that the USOPC would "direct our attention" to 2030 should it be left as the only feasible candidate.

Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games President Fraser Bullock added the State's legislation would allow it to "take the next step" in the IOC's bidding process.

Public polls have shown opposition to Sapporo's hopes of staging the Games, while Vancouver's proposal has been hampered by a lack of support from the Government of British Columbia and a mooted Swiss, Italian and French bid failed to materialise because of Chamonix's lack of interest.

In contrast Salt Lake City appears to have broad support for staging the Games, with a poll of 802 people by Deseret News and Hinckley Institute of Politics last month finding 82 per cent of respondents wanted the Utah capital to host a second edition.

The Japanese city of Sapporo had long been considered the frontrunner for the 2030 Winter Olympics, but its bid was "paused" following growing public anger at the Tokyo 2020 bribery scandal.

Difficulties with a First Nations-led bid from the Canadian city of Vancouver appeared to have Salt Lake City as the 2030 frontrunner by default, but Sweden recently announced it is planning a feasibility study into a potential bid.

A Stockholm-Åre bid missed out to Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy for the 2026 Winter Games.

The 2030 edition is set to mark the first Winter Olympics and Paralympics awarded under the IOC's new bidding process in which its Future Host Commission identifies and proposes its preferred candidate from interested parties to the Executive Board.