A tram in Tampere has been decorated to promote this year's IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship ©2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Organising Committee

A tram in the Finnish city of Tampere has been decorated with branding to promote its co-hosting of the men's International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Ice Hockey World Championship in May.

Tampere stepped in as host of this year's World Championship along with Latvia's capital Riga, replacing the Russian city of Saint Petersburg after it was stripped of the tournament because of the war in Ukraine.

Finland also held last year's World Championship in Tampere and the capital city Helsinki.

The tram in Tampere took two days to decorate in World Championship branding, and is now operational on two different routes through to the event from May 12 to 28.

Spectators with match tickets are set to be able to use public transport free of charge to attend fixtures in Tampere.

A tram in Riga was decorated with World Championship branding in November and December last year.

Tampere held last year's men's IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship final, won by Finland against Canada ©Getty Images
Tampere held last year's men's IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship final, won by Finland against Canada ©Getty Images

The Nokia Area in Tampere holds 13,455 people, and is due to host the final for the second year running.

Finland beat Canada in overtime to win last year's World Championship.

The co-hosts are due to play their Group A matches against the United States, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, France, Austria and Hungary in Tampere.

The 10,300-capacity Arena Riga is due to host Group B matches featuring Canada, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia, co-hosts Latvia, Norway, Kazakhstan and Slovenia.

Russia, together with its ally Belarus, remain unable to compete at IIHF events because of the war in Ukraine.

This was extended for the 2023-2024 season earlier this month, with the IIHF citing safety reasons.