The World Athletics governing body has announced Kenya will become the first African country to stage its flagship Championships for the 2029 edition, while Germany’s Munich will host the 2031 iteration.
Kenya’s capital Nairobi beat bids by fellow capital cities London (England) and Rome (Italy) to win hosting rights and will hold the 2029 event at the 48,000-capacity Kasarani Stadium, which is being renovated ahead of the country putting on soccer’s Africa Cup of Nations next year.
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The East African nation boasts a rich athletics heritage, having so far secured 72 World Championship and 38 Olympic gold medals – most of which have been won in the middle-and long-distance running categories.
It will be the first time an African nation will host a senior World Championships despite the continent producing some of the biggest stars in athletics.
Kenya has previously hosted other athletic events, including the 2017 World U18 and 2021 U20 Championships in Nairobi, and the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, but lost its bid to stage the 2025 World Championships to Japan’s Tokyo.
Announcing the winning bid at the governing body’s council meeting in Budapest today, World Athletics’ president Seb Coe said: “Kenya is one of the great athletics nations. The sport is woven into the fabric of the country.
“It was important that the World Championships should come to Africa when we had the right host, the right bid and the right circumstances. Nairobi has demonstrated emphatically that this is their moment."
The decision to award rights to Kenya is a blow to London, whose bid was led by Athletic Ventures, comprising UK Athletics, London Marathon Events, and the Great Run Company.
The UK’s bid proposed the London Stadium, home to second-tier soccer club West Ham and the city’s annual Diamond League event, as a host venue.
The last time the UK hosted the biennial World Athletics Championships was in London in 2017.
Responding to the news, Jack Buckner, CEO of UK Athletics and co-founder of Athletic Ventures, said: "We are deeply disappointed that the 2029 World Athletics Championships will not be held in London. We believed we had an outstanding bid which would genuinely take the sport to new levels.
“Our congratulations go to Nairobi, and we wish the organizing committee all the best for a great event in 2029."
For Germany, winning rights to the 2031 edition will mark the third time the country has staged the World Championships after Stuttgart in 1993 and Berlin 2009.
Ronald Rauhe, the Minister of State for Sport in Germany, said: “For us, hosting such a major sporting event is far more than top level sport.
“We want to create an impact that reaches beyond the stadium. This World Championships are intended to encourage the young people to believe in their own potential.”
The next edition of the World Athletics Championships is due to take place in Beijing, China between September 10 and 19, 2027. Both Nairobi 2029 and Munich 2031 editions will be scheduled for September in their respective years as an end-of-season event.
The US and Hungary hosted the 2022 (delayed because of Covid-19) and 2023 editions of the Championships, respectively.
