Nowadays there is more emphasis on the security of participants and visitors to large events (sports, cultural and social) than ever before. The 2011 IIHF World Championship set to take place in Bratislava and Košice will not be an exception.

With regard to this matter, the 2011 IIHF WM Security committee held its first meeting on March 10th 2010. “In the current situation around the world safety requirements for various events with great concentrations of people are getting higher and higher. The 2011 IIHF World Championship, which we will be organizing in Slovakia next year will be a great opportunity to present Slovakia in its entirety in front to the world, and all sections of the 2011 IIHF WM Security committee will do their utmost in order for participants and visitors to feel safe,” said Mr. Roman Štamberský, the 2011 IIHF WM Security committee chairman.“I am happy that we have successfully delegated specialists from the police force, rail police, fire service, rescue system, Bratislava and Košice city police chiefs and specialists from private security groups who have had several years of experience with work at ice arenas,” accentuated Mr. Roman Štambersky, clearly signifying that the emphasis was being placed on safety and the smooth running of the 2011 IIHF WM

The expert supervisor of the 2011 IIHF WM Security committee is Slovak police force vice president General Stanislav Jankovič. “We expect some 350 000 fans to turn up for the 2011 IIHF World Championship. From the point of view of overall security, the issue at hand is not only the security of the arenas in Bratislava and Košice themselves, but also in the cities themselves – the games will be watched in bars and on big screens in the squares. From this point of view there will be close collaboration with all aspects of the emergency services the police, ambulance, fire brigade and also local police and security services at the arenas. Fine tuning the transport system will also play an important role – in particular with regards to the fluid arrival and departure of fans to and from the arenas” said Slovak police force vice president General Stanislav Jankovič, who when asked whether the security provisions during the 2011 IIHF WM would be as comparably demanding as those implemented during the recent Bush-Putin summit answered: “The 2011 IIHF World Championship, in terms of its duration (almost three weeks) as well as the sheer amount of spectators will be unique, so from that point of view it will be more demanding. High quality and safe implementation of the 2011 IIHF World Championship will be representative of Slovakia in its entirety, that’s how it needs to be understood. It’s not merely the police’s role, but all elements that play a role in the smooth running of the event.”

The 2011 IIHF WM Security committee commenced its activities in April with inspections of both Bratislava and Košice venues.