MUNICH – Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, supports the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany as a member of the Honorary Committee.

Her interest in joining the committee was confirmed in a letter from the chancellor's office to Uwe Harnos, President of the German Ice Hockey Federation and of the Organizing Committee. The confirmation letter expressed wishes “for good luck and success with regards to the further preparation and organization of the event”.

“The support of our Chancellor honours the 2010 IIHF World Championship as the year’s most important international sporting event in Germany,” Harnos said. “We will do our very best to fulfil the expectations that are implicated with the confirmation of Dr. Merkel and try to present Germany as an open and sporty nation in the course of the 2010 IIHF World Championship.”

Further members of the Honorary Committee are Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers (Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia), Jürgen Roters (Lord Mayor of Cologne), Dr. Peter Kurz (Lord Mayor of Mannheim), Frank Baranowski (Lord Mayor of Gelsenkirchen) and Dr. Thomas Bach (President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation).

The 2010 IIHF World Championship takes place May 7-23 in Cologne, Mannheim and Gelsenkirchen. The organizers expect 500,000 spectators at the 16-nation, 56-game event. 1,000 accredited journalists and over 200 TV stations involved will report in over 100 countries of the World Championship from Germany. 650 million viewers are expected to follow the World Championship on the television. Tickets are available on www.iihfworlds2010.com and telephone +49 621 18 19 0 333.