The 2014 FIBA World Championship will be the 17th tournament of the FIBA World Championship

FIBA World Championship

The FIBA World Championship is an international basketball competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation , the sport's global governing body...

 held by Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

Host selection

FIBA opened the bidding process on January 10, 2008 and all the letters of intent were submitted on April 30, 2008.
Nine countries showed interest in hosting the event, as in order, they were Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

, Qatar

Qatar

Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, and China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

.

Among the nine, only three were shortlisted by FIBA. China which hosted the FIBA Asia Championship 2009

FIBA Asia Championship 2009

The 2009 FIBA Asia Championship for Men was the biennial Asian continental championship and also served as the FIBA Asia qualifying tournament for the 2010 FIBA World Championship. The tournament was held from August 6 to 16, 2009 in Tianjin, China....

, Italy which last hosted a FIBA tournament in Eurobasket Women 2007

EuroBasket Women 2007

- Group B :- Group C :- Group D :-Qualifying round:- Group E :- Group F :-Championship bracket:-5th place bracket:- Quarterfinals :-Classification rounds:- Semifinals :- Third place game:...

, and Eurobasket 2007

Eurobasket 2007

-Group B:-Group C:-Group D:-Second round:- Group E :- Group F :-Championship bracket:- Quarterfinals :-Classification rounds:- Semifinals :- Third place game:- Final :...

 host Spain.

On May 23, 2009, after voting by the FIBA Central Board in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 in which the Chinese and Spanish representatives abstained, China was the first to be eliminated in the first round of voting. In the final round, Arvydas Sabonis

Arvydas Sabonis

Arvydas Romas Sabonis is a retired Lithuanian professional basketball player and a businessman. He was an eight-time European Player of the Year, winning the Euroscar Award six times, and the Mr...

 and Sasha Djordjević announced that Spain won the hosting rights with eleven votes as opposed to Italy's eight.

Venues

Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

 will be the main venue, hosting the final and the most matches among host cities. The Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid

Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid

Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid is an indoor sporting arena located in the City of Madrid, Spain. Its capacity is 15,000 people for basketball matches, 14,000 for handball matches and 18,000 for concerts .The former building, which was built in 1960, was destroyed by a fire in 2001...

 will be the venue used for matches in Madrid.

On April 17, 2010, Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

 was added to the list of cities to hold games, bringing the total venues to six. This will be Barcelona's first time being part of a major international event in basketball since the 1997

EuroBasket 1997

-Venues:The tournament was played at three venues in Spain. Girona and Badalona hosted the first and the second round, while the entire knockout stage was played at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona.-First round:-Group A:-Group B:-Group C:...

 EuroBasket

Eurobasket

The EuroBasket, also referred to as the FIBA European Basketball Championship, is the main basketball competition contested biennially by the men's national teams governed by FIBA Europe, the European zone within the International Basketball Federation. The championship was first held in 1935 and...

, in which the Palau Sant Jordi

Palau Sant Jordi

Palau Sant Jordi is an indoor sporting arena and multi-purpose installation that is part of the Olympic Ring complex located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain...

 hosted the final stages.

Below is a list of the confirmed venues which will be used to host games during the 2014 FIBA World Championship.

City	Venue	Capacity
Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...	Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid is an indoor sporting arena located in the City of Madrid, Spain. Its capacity is 15,000 people for basketball matches, 14,000 for handball matches and 18,000 for concerts .The former building, which was built in 1960, was destroyed by a fire in 2001...	15,500
Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...	Palau Sant Jordi Palau Sant Jordi Palau Sant Jordi is an indoor sporting arena and multi-purpose installation that is part of the Olympic Ring complex located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain...	16,500
Bilbao Bilbao Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...	Bizkaia Arena Bizkaia Arena Bizkaia Arena is an indoor arena in Barakaldo, Greater Bilbao. It is the biggest multipurpose hall in Spain as it can hold up to 26,000 people, 18,640 for most indoor sports. The arena is part of the Bilbao Exhibition Centre complex, the new Exhibition and Congress Centre of Bilbao and Biscay...	10,400
Seville Seville Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...	Palacio Municipal de Deportes San Pablo Palacio Municipal de Deportes San Pablo Palacio Municipal De Deportes San Pablo is an arena in Seville, Spain. Built in 1988, It is primarily used for basketball and the home arena of CB Sevilla. The arena can hold up to 10,200 people.-References:...	10,200
Granada Granada Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...	Palacio Municipal de Deportes de Granada Palacio Municipal de Deportes de Granada Palacio Municipal de Deportes de Granada is an arena in Granada, Spain. Opened in 1991, It is primarily used for basketball and the home arena of CB Granada. The arena holds 7,500 people, and hosted Group A in EuroBasket 2007.-External links:***...	7,500
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Las Palmas de Gran Canaria commonly known as Las Palmas is the political capital, jointly with Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 383,308 in 2010. Nearly half of the people of the island...	Palacio de Deportes de Las Palmas Palacio de Deportes de Las Palmas Palacio de Deportes de Las Palmas, also named Palacio Multiusos de Gran Canaria is a description of a planned indoor sporting arena located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. Once opened in 2013, the capacity of the arena will be 11,500 spectators. It is being built for the 2014 FIBA World...	10,000