Winterberg beat off competition from two previous Winter Olympic Games hosts as Lake Placid, which staged the 1980 event, was eliminated in the first round, while Sochi lost out in the final round.

It has a history in playing host to the World Championships as the competition was held there in 1988 and again in 1991, where it stepped in at the last minute as a replacement for Sigulda, Latvia, due to political tension in the region at the time. 

The event in Winterberg will be the second time in recent years the Championships have gone to Germany as Königssee is due to stage the event next year.

Following Königssee, the event switches to Innsbruck-Igls in 2017, ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang.

The 2016 Championshipswill also provide the first opportunity for the FIL to testing its sprint format, where titles will be won in men’s and women’s singles, as well as doubles.

The race, which made its debut last season, consists of one straight run on a shortened track and it is also set to feature at three World Cups, held in Calgary, Sochi and Park City.

An application concerning the event, made by the Sports Commission and Executive Board at the recommendation of the German Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton Federation, was also approved.

The announcement came at the 63rd FIL Conference held in Pyeongchang.

During this year’s Conference, attended by the majority of the sport’s main delegates, it was also announced that Romania will be the host of the 2017 gathering, due to be held in either the capital Bucharest or Black Sea coast holiday resort Mamaia.

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