IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship 2027
16 nations, two Rhine-region host cities, May 14–30, 2027 — with an early opener at Gelsenkirchen's 60,000-seat Veltins-Arena
Germany hosts the 2027 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship across Düsseldorf and Mannheim, May 14–30, with 16 of the world's top hockey nations competing for the title. The tournament actually kicks off a day early, on May 13, with host nation Germany playing the reigning runner-up Switzerland at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen — normally Schalke 04's football stadium, temporarily converted for a single outdoor-style hockey showcase game in front of a crowd far larger than either regular venue could hold.
Quick facts
The main venues
Düsseldorf's PSD Bank Dome (capacity 14,282) hosts the tournament's final four games, while Mannheim's SAP Arena (capacity 13,600) — a well-established hockey venue, home to DEL club Adler Mannheim — serves as Team Germany's base through the group stage. Both cities sit in the Rhine-Ruhr/Rhine-Neckar region, well connected by German rail, so combining games at both venues across a multi-day trip is realistic without needing to fly between them.
The Gelsenkirchen opener
Germany vs. Switzerland at the Veltins-Arena on May 13, the day before the official tournament start, is the marquee single-game draw of the whole event — a repurposed 61,574-capacity football stadium is a genuinely rare setting for international hockey, and tickets for it are expected to be the hardest to get of the entire championship given the scale mismatch between that capacity and a typical hockey arena.
Planning around it
Germany previously co-hosted IIHF Worlds in the 2010s, so there's local infrastructure and experience with the event, but exact game-by-game schedules, ticket sale dates and the full 16-team field weren't finalized as of mid-2026 — check the IIHF's official site closer to the date for confirmed match schedules before booking travel around specific games.
Practical tips
- —If the Gelsenkirchen opener (Germany vs. Switzerland, May 13) is the draw, expect it to sell out fastest of anything in the tournament — register interest through official IIHF channels as soon as ticket sales open rather than waiting.
- —Düsseldorf and Mannheim are roughly 1.5–2 hours apart by train, making a two-city trip realistic if you want to catch games at both the group stage (Mannheim) and knockout rounds (Düsseldorf).
- —May in the Rhine region is generally mild and pleasant — a reasonable month to combine hockey with general sightseeing in either city.
- —Book Düsseldorf accommodation early if your trip centers on the final four — that's when demand concentrates hardest, same pattern as most single-city tournament finals.
