The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship starts on Friday - but there is already reason to celebrate.
The goal of 300,000 tickets sold has been reached, and so the Danish ice hockey
lions and the rest of the world's elite can look forward to strong support from
the stands in the two arenas, Jyske Bank Boxen and Royal Arena.
No other sports event in Denmark has previously generated such high ticket sales, and even greater numbers could still be achieved, as tickets for some games still remain available.
The ticket success is welcomed by the President of the Danish Ice Hockey Association, Henrik Bach Nielsen:
"Nobody initially believed that we could bring the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships to Denmark. But we did. Then nobody believed that we could sell 300,000 tickets. But we did that as well. The fact that we have managed to achieve this magic number before the start of the Championship is fantastic, particularly when you consider that traditionally a large number of tickets are
sold during the actual event. Now we are looking forward to the whole thing starting and being able to welcome the many Danish and international fans to Jyske Bank Boxen and Royal Arena, which are currently being transformed into two world-class ice hockey arenas," says Henrik.
The excellent ticket sales are also welcomed by the World Championship project's partners.
"Selling 300,000 tickets for the Ice Hockey World Championships was an ambitious goal. Ambitious because it represented around double the number of tickets sold for the European Men's Handball Championship in 2014. There is significant interest from both Danish and international spectators, and sales of more than 300,000 tickets before the first puck has been hit is both impressive and pleasing. We are looking forward to the many spectators creating
a festive atmosphere at both Royal Arena and Jyske Bank Boxen, as well as in the fan zones," says Lars Lundov, CEO of Sport Event Denmark.
"It's truly great work to have achieved the goal of 300,000 tickets sold before
the first puck has even touched the ice. Here in the Municipality of Herning, we are really looking forward to Friday, when the World Championship starts in earnest. We would like to thank the World Championship company, Danish Ice Hockey Federation, Sport Event Denmark and Central Denmark Region for the constructive cooperation," says Mayor Lars Krarup.
Lord Mayor of Copenhagen Frank Jensen concludes:
"It is a huge pleasure for me, as co-host along with Herning, to offer the many
players, volunteers and fans a warm welcome to Copenhagen. The Ice Hockey World
Championships are a huge event, and I am looking forward, along with all residents of Copenhagen, to following the exciting matches in Royal Arena - hopefully with Danish participation in the Final Round weekend."
http://2018.iihfworlds.com/en/news/magic-number-reached/
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