Group A in Copenhagen includes new world champion Sweden along with Russia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belarus, Slovakia, France and Austria.

The 12,500-seat Royal Arena that opened its doors recently will serve as the main venue and also host the semi-finals and medal games. The arena is just a ten-minute train ride from the city centre of the Danish capital and the airport and just a 26-minute train ride from Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city.

”The two groups are very close to being perfectly balanced. Sweden and Denmark had to be in separate groups, and we wanted to have Russia in Copenhagen. They bring a lot of spectators and generally tend to be a comprehensive task for the organizer,” says Henrik Bach Nielsen, IIHF Council member and President of the Danish Ice Hockey Association.

“We have already received a lot of hotel requests from Russian stakeholders. We are sure that Copenhagen will handle the task while simultaneously creating a festive environment for the many spectators from abroad that will arrive – and for all the Danish fans attending the party.”

Host Denmark will play in Group B in Herning with runner-up Canada, Finland, USA, Germany, Norway, Latvia and newcomer Korea. The games will be played at the 11,000-seat Jyske Bank Boxen.

The groups are based on the new 2017 IIHF World Ranking with one minor swap to take into consideration special requirements of the host.

“The group in Herning will be just as interesting. Denmark is a given, but imagine the atmosphere there will be with Germany, Finland and Latvia in the group playing in Jyske Bank Boxen. And the Norwegians like to support events in neighbouring countries as well. Herning has managed big events before. They will do it again,” Bach Nielsen said.

“Generally speaking, I have only grown more optimistic in regards to ticket sales after having attended the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Cologne and Paris. There have really been a lot of fans from abroad, and if we can attract the same influx to Denmark, it will be a great Ice Hockey World Championship, I’m sure.”

The first stage of ticket sale has already started on the official website 2018.iihfworlds.com with first ticket packages.

The game schedule will be announced at a later date and further ticket offers will go on sale in September including day tickets.

Check out the official website 2018.iihfworlds.com, which is available in English and Danish, for more information about the event, to order ticket packages that are already available, to read more about becoming a volunteer and subscribe to the newsletter.