Nairobi has been chosen to stage the 2029 World Athletics Championships, making Kenya the first African country to host the outdoor global track and field event, while Munich will hold the 2031 edition.
Key takeaways
- London, Munich and Rome were Nairobi’s rivals in the contest for the 2029 championships.
- Beijing will host the 2027 edition, creating an Asia-Africa-Europe sequence across three championships.
- Kenyan President William Ruto described the decision as a landmark achievement for the country and the continent.
- Kenya has held several major athletics competitions but lost its bid for the 2025 World Championships.
- More than 140 Kenyan athletes have been suspended for doping offences since 2017, the highest national total recorded by the Athletics Integrity Unit.
Nairobi awarded historic championships
The decision on 2031 was also confirmed in Budapest after a World Athletics council meeting in the Hungarian capital, which had hosted the newly completed Ultimate Championship.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the four bids for the 2029 and 2031 events were all of a very high standard, making the council’s choice particularly difficult.
Beijing had already secured the 2027 championships. Coe said the latest allocations would take the competition to Asia, Africa and Europe in successive editions.
He called Nairobi’s selection a historic step and said the Kenyan proposal had combined strong substance with an emotional appeal. The Briton added that Africa deserved to host the championships when the appropriate city, bid and conditions were in place.
Coe said Nairobi had made a powerful case for using the event to accelerate athletics development in Kenya and throughout Africa, while creating a lasting legacy capable of motivating the entire continent.
Ruto welcomed the outcome, calling it a defining moment for Kenya and Africa. He said it represented a triumph for generations of athletes who had established the country’s reputation in track events, road racing and cross country.
Kenya previously sought the 2025 World Championships without success. Its record of hosting major athletics events includes the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, the 2017 World Under-18 Championships in Nairobi and the 2021 World Under-20 Championships in the capital. Nairobi was also the venue for the 2010 African Athletics Championships.
Coe said the Nairobi bid team had learned from its earlier campaign for 2025 and returned with a more convincing proposal. A central part of that plan is the redevelopment of Kasarani Stadium, which is undergoing a full renovation before it hosts the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
He said athletics was deeply embedded in Kenyan life, highlighting world and Olympic middle-distance champion Faith Kipyegon among the athletes who have helped shape the sport’s history. Coe also pointed to the exceptionally strong level of public support for athletics in the East African nation.
One issue surrounding the award is Kenya’s anti-doping record. Since 2017, the Athletics Integrity Unit has suspended more than 140 Kenyan athletes, most of them long-distance runners, for prohibited-substance violations. That is more than the total recorded for athletes from any other country.
Munich gets 2031 edition
Munich most recently hosted the 2022 European Athletics Championships at the city’s Olympic Park. Coe said Germany had repeatedly shown that it could deliver major athletics events with quality and imagination.
He added that Germany possessed a substantial athletics audience and that Munich’s proposal contained everything needed to produce an outstanding 2031 World Championships.
The decision means three consecutive editions will be staged outside Europe, although Coe rejected the suggestion that this should be viewed as a problem. He acknowledged Europe’s status as one of the sport’s traditional strongholds and described it as a major source of athletics’ strength.
However, he said World Athletics also had a duty to serve its more than 200 member federations by taking its flagship competition to regions where it could expand the sport’s reach strategically.
Coe also revealed considerable interest in hosting the 2028 Ultimate Championship. The event was created this year as a three-day finale to the season, bringing together the leading athletes across the sport.
He said enthusiasm for staging the competition was already growing, with World Athletics intending to announce the host city before the end of the year.
