Bulgaria, Italy to Co-Host 2018 Men's Volleyball World Championship

Bulgaria and Italy will co-host the 19th edition of the men's volleyball World Championship, which will take place in 2018.

This will be the first world championship co-hosted by two countries, with the semifinals and finals of the tournament to be played in Italy.

The decision was taken by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) on Wednesday in Lausanne.

The two countries co-hosted the 2015 men's volleyball European Championship, which was held in two Bulgarian cities (Sofia and Varna) and two Italian cities (Turin and Busto Arsizio) between October 9 and 18.

Both countries have experience in hosting world championships, with Bulgaria having hosted both the men's and women's world championships in 1970.

Italy has organised three world championships so far - the men's championships in 1978 and 2010 and the 2014 women's championship.

In 2018, Bulgaria will also host the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championship, which is scheduled to take place at the Arena Armeec hall in Sofia between 10 and 16 September.

The same venue and city will also welcome the 2017 Trampoline Gymnastics World Championship, which will be held from 5 to 8 November.

The decision to attribute these two championships was taken at the trimestral meeting of the executive committee of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) in Lausanne on Tuesday.

FIG noted the solid Bulgarian experience in organising important gymnastics competitions, most recently the 2013 Trampoline Worlds.

Sofia has also been a stop on the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup circuit since 2011.