Nairobi has been selected as the host for the 2029 World Athletics Championships, becoming the first African country to host the biennial global event after beating strong bids from London and Rome.
The decision was made during the 242nd World Athletics Council Meeting in Budapest on Monday and Tuesday (14-15).
Nairobi staged the World U18 Championships in 2017 and the World U20 Championships in 2021, besides staging the World Cross Country Championships in 2007.
The 22nd edition will be staged in Kasarani Stadium in September 2029, after Nairobi hosted successful global junior championships in 2017 and 2021.
Nairobi was successful on its second attempt to stage the most coveted athletics championships after losing its initial bid to Tokyo for the 2025 edition.
The events have helped build significant experience and expertise in staging global athletics competitions across the continent.
Munich has been awarded the 2031 World Athletics Championships, with the event returning to Germany for a third time at the Olympic Stadium.
“We were fortunate to have four outstanding bids for 2029 and 2031, and this was not an easy decision for the Council,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.
“With this Council decision today, we continue to fulfil our mission of growing athletics worldwide with the hosting of our World Athletics Championships in Asia, Africa and Europe over its next three editions. Nairobi and Munich ultimately presented two compelling propositions. They offer very different but equally exciting opportunities for our sport, and I am delighted that we can now begin working with both cities to stage two world-class championships.”
Nairobi has established particularly strong credentials as a host city. Having previously bid to host the 2025 championships, awarded to Tokyo, Nairobi returned with an even stronger proposition for 2029, drawing on almost a decade of experience in staging major international athletics events.
Nairobi has in the past hosted seven editions of the Kip Keino Classic as one of Africa’s leading one-day meetings, which has been part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold since 2020.
Besides that, Kenya has produced world-beaters in track events, road running, and marathons, and staging the championship presents the best platform for Kenya to stamp its authority in track, field, and marathons.
The strength of Kenya’s connection with athletics is also reflected in World Athletics fan research.
Some 68% of Kenyan people surveyed rated their interest in athletics as high, compared with a global average of 39%, making Kenya the most athletics-interested market surveyed.
Meanwhile, Munich has been chosen to host the 2031 championships, which will see the championships return to Germany for the first time since Berlin staged the event in 2009.
Those championships also provided a memorable sporting experience for the host nation, with Germany topping the medal table.
German athletics has since enjoyed renewed international momentum. Germany won five medals, including one gold, at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 before finishing third on the medal table at the European Championships in Birmingham.
Germany also has one of the largest memberships of any federation and a strong vision and strategy to grow the sport.
“Germany has proved time and again that it is an outstanding and dependable host for major athletics events,” said Coe. “Berlin 2009 remains one of the most memorable editions of the World Championships, and we have since seen tremendous support for the sport at the European Championships in Berlin and Munich.
“The Olympiapark is also a symbol of sustainability, and we are assured that this will be a core value in the planning and implementation of the World Championships, aligned with international best practices and the Athletics for a Better World Gold Event standard.
“We know Munich can deliver major championships, we know Germany has an audience for athletics, and we believe Munich 2031 has all the ingredients to be a spectacular World Athletics Championships.”
The 21st World Athletics Championships will take place in Beijing on 10–19 September 2027.
Both Nairobi 2029 and Munich 2031 will also take place in September, in line with the objective for the global athletics calendar to reach its climax at the end of the season with a major global championship.
