2021 IIHF World Championship
The 2021 IIHF World Championship took place from 21 May to 6 June 2021. It was originally to be co-hosted by Minsk, Belarus and Riga, Latvia, as the IIHF announced on 19 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany. Their joint bid won by a very tight margin against the Finnish bid with the cities of Tampere and Helsinki. On 18 January 2021 the IIHF decided to remove Belarus as a co-host due to the rising political unrest and COVID-19 concerns there. On 2 February, the IIHF voted to confirm Latvia as the sole host for the 2021 IIHF World Championship.
Controversial flagpoles of the teams at the 2021 IIHF World Championship in Riga, with the Belarusian flag replaced.
Spiky the Hedgehog on the 2021 stamp of Latvia
Finnish national hockey team's bus at the 2021 IIHF World Championship next to Arēna Rīga.
Image: Arēna Rīga
Riga is the capital, primate, and the largest city of Latvia, as well as the most populous city in the Baltic States. Home to 609,489 inhabitants, the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 860,142. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km2 (118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3–33 ft) above sea level on a flat and sandy plain.
Image: Riga downtown
Image: Old Riga Vecrīga Town Hall
Image: Riga Petrikirche Blick vom Turm zum Dom 3
Image: House of the Blackheads in Riga