The International Ice Hockey Federation has entrusted Latvia and Finland with hosting the 2030 World Championship. Riga will once again become one of the main arenas of world hockey, and the joint bid from the two countries received nearly unanimous support from the delegates of the IIHF congress.
Latvia and Finland have officially been granted the right to host the men's ice hockey world championship in 2030.
The decision was made at the congress of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) taking place in Zurich. The joint bid from the two countries was the only one submitted and received support from 98.23% of the voting participants.
Preparation for the bidding campaign began at the end of last year when the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation and the Finnish Ice Hockey Association announced their intention to jointly organize the tournament.
The world championship will take place from May 17 to June 2, 2030.
The group stage matches will be split between Riga and Helsinki, with each capital hosting one group of participants. Additionally, quarterfinal matches will be held in both cities. The decisive matches of the tournament — the semifinals, the third-place match, and the final — will be played in Helsinki.
Before making the decision, the IIHF conducted a multi-stage evaluation of the bid, examining the infrastructure, logistics, and organizational plans of both countries.
This will be Latvia's fourth ice hockey world championship in history. Previously, Riga hosted the world championship in 2006, 2021, and 2023. Hosting the world championship traditionally brings tens of thousands of foreign guests to the host country, providing additional occupancy for hotels, restaurants, and tourist infrastructure.
In recent years, Latvia has established itself as one of the most experienced organizers of international ice hockey tournaments. The world championships held in Riga during and after the pandemic received particularly high praise.
The President of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation, Aigars Kalvitis, stated that Latvia and Finland share a deep hockey culture and a common passion for the sport. In his opinion, co-hosting the tournament will create an event that will be remembered by fans around the world.
The upcoming world championships will take place in other European countries. Germany will host the tournament in 2027, France in 2028, and Slovakia in 2029.
Thus, in just five years, Riga will once again be in the spotlight of world hockey and will host one of the largest sporting events on the planet.
