Nairobi will host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, becoming the first African city to stage the global track and field event, World Athletics announced Tuesday.
The Kenyan capital beat bids from London, Munich and Rome to secure the 2029 edition, while Munich was selected to host the 2031 championships.
The decisions were announced after a World Athletics Council meeting in Budapest, which recently hosted the inaugural Ultimate Championship.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the selection followed a competitive bidding process involving four cities.
“We were fortunate to have four outstanding bids for 2029 and 2031, and this was not an easy decision for the Council,” Coe told a press conference.
The 2027 World Athletics Championships will be held in Beijing.
Coe said the next three editions would take the championships to Asia, Africa and Europe, describing Nairobi’s selection as a historic moment for the sport.
“Taking our championships to Africa for the first time will be historic. Nairobi has presented a compelling and an emotional bid,” he said.
He added that Nairobi had demonstrated its readiness to use the championships to accelerate the development of athletics in Kenya and across Africa.
Kenya previously bid unsuccessfully to host the 2025 World Championships. The country has, however, staged several major athletics events, including the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, the 2017 World Under-18 Championships and the 2021 World Under-20 Championships in Nairobi.
Nairobi also hosted the 2010 African Athletics Championships.
Coe said Kenya’s experience from the 2025 bidding process helped strengthen its latest proposal, which included plans for the renovation of Kasarani Stadium ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
“Athletics is woven into the fabric of Kenya,” Coe said, citing Olympic and world champion Faith Kipyegon among the Kenyan athletes who have shaped the sport’s history.
Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Sports Salim Mvurya said the decision affirmed Kenya’s position at the heart of global athletics.
“The world will come to a country where running is more than competition. It is our national story, and where every generation believes that the next world champion can emerge from Kenya,” he said.
On Munich’s selection for 2031, Coe praised Germany’s record of hosting major athletics events, including the 2022 European Athletics Championships.
He said Munich had the facilities, audience and experience needed to stage a successful World Athletics Championships.
Coe also defended the decision to hold three consecutive editions outside Europe, despite describing the continent as a “heartland” of athletics.
He said World Athletics had a responsibility to expand the sport’s global footprint and give more regions the opportunity to host its flagship championships.
Meanwhile, Coe said there was already strong interest in hosting the 2028 Ultimate Championship, a three-day season-ending event launched this year to bring together the world’s leading athletes.
