2016 World Championships will be held in Russia

13 May 2011 | Fredrik Pålsson

Denmark and Ukraine withdraw bids. 2016 tournament to be played in Moscow and St.Petersburg.

IIHF announcer today that the 2016 IIHF World Championship will be played in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia. Denmark and Ukraine withdrew their bids and they will apply to host the World Championship later. Moscow and St. Petersburg were also hosts for the 2000 and 2007 WC. Games will be played in the 13,577 seat Sports Palace Megasport in Moscow and the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg with a 12,300 capacity. The championship will be played between April 29 and May 15, 2016 and will be a part of the 70-year anniversary of hockey in Russia.

Denmark (Copenhagen, Herning) and Latvia (Riga) announced their intention to bid for the 2017 IIHF World Championship. The vote will take place during the Annual Congress next year. “After discussions, we decided to withdraw the bid and will bid even harder in 2017,” said Henrik Bach Nielsen, the President of the Danish Ice Hockey Association. Ukraine announced a intention to bid on the Championship in 2018 or later.

“We are considering in the current situation to have big events also in Donetsk and to build a 15,000-seat arena there. That’s why we decided to make our final bid for the IIHF World Championship after the UEFA Euro 2012 (the European football championship that will be played in Ukraine and Poland),” said Anatoli Brezvin, the President of the Ukrainian Ice Hockey Federation.