Latvia and Finland to co-host 2030 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship

Today, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Congress decided to award the hosting rights to Latvia and Finland for the 2030 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. The two countries already co-hosted the 2023 World Championship and were the only candidates to host the 2030 tournament.

The 2030 IIHF World Championship will be held in the capitals of both countries, Helsinki and Riga, from May 17 to June 2, 2030. Each city will host one qualifying group (each group consisting of 8 teams) and two quarter-final matches, while the semi-finals and medal matches will be held in Helsinki.

The joint bid was evaluated in several stages, with the IIHF evaluating the hosting plans and infrastructure. In the vote, the Finnish and Latvian bid received 98.23% support from the IIHF Congress delegates.

“Latvia and Finland are united not only by hockey, but also by a common understanding of what a true hockey culture means. The 2030 World Championship will be an opportunity for two hockey nations to combine experience, passion and fan energy to jointly create a tournament that will be remembered by the entire hockey world. I am confident that Riga and Helsinki will together show what a world-class hockey festival looks like.” – Latvian Hockey Federation President Aigars Kalvītis.

“With this decision, we can fully begin preparations for the championship. It is already clear that the city of Helsinki, the arena and other key partners are involved in this project with great enthusiasm and from the heart. It is obvious that the world championship games in the capital region are a highly anticipated event,” says Heiki Hietanen, President of the Finnish Hockey Federation.

The world championship in hockey was previously held in Riga in 2006 and 2021, but together with the Finnish city of Tampere in 2023, when the Latvian team won bronze medals.

The next IIHF world championships will take place:

in 2027 in the German cities of Düsseldorf and Mannheim,

in 2028 in the French cities of Paris and Lyon,

in 2029 in the Slovak cities of Bratislava and Košice,

in 2030 in the Finnish capital of Helsinki and the Latvian capital of In Riga.