Today, we are only one year away from the great party. One year away from the opening match of the Men’s World Handball Championship in Sweden.

January 13, 2011, is the opening of the Handball World Championship in Sweden. There are 365 days left for preparations.

– Now every day is important for us if Men’s Handball World Championship will be the Championship for the world that we want it to be. Everything has to be prepared and nothing to be neglected. This is a big challenge for everyone involved, says Arne Elovsson, Director of the Men’s Handball World Championship 2011.

Today, only two teams are qualified for the championships 2011: Sweden, as host nation and France as defending champions. At the European Championship, which starts on Tuesday, three more nations qualifies. Then the audience in this three countries becomes interesting target groups wich gives more opportunities in ticket sales.

After the draw, held in Gothenburg, Sweden July 9, it is clear which countries are in and where they should play. Then all the tickets are put for sale.
– We will benefit from all we can do before summer, because after the draw there will be even more to do.

The Men’s World Handball Championship is the biggest event in Scandinavia in 2011, with up to two billion viewers in 150 countries and over 300 000 people in the audience.
– It is a major challenge to host a world championship, it is not just a championship for handball interested Swedes, but for sports fans from all around the world, says Arne Elovsson.

Some facts about the Men’s Handball World Championship 2011:

•  It is played 13-30 January 2011.
•  24 teams from all continents participate.
•  Championship begins with preliminary round – four groups of six teams each.
•  Following is the main round with two groups of six teams each.
•  Finals, and one of two semi-finals, will be played in Malmö Arena. The second semi-final will be played in Kristianstad.
•  One of the goals of the championship is to create a multi-cultural party, which extends far beyond the handball arenas.
•  Host cities are Malmö, Lund, Kristianstad, Göteborg, Jönköping, Linköping, Norrköping and Skövde.
•  The first tickets were released in October 2009. The next ticket release will be in March 2010, which include a number of "Follow Your Team" tickets and final tickets. The remainder of the tickets are placed directly after the draw, 9 July 2010.