Nairobi to make history as first African host of World Championships
Nairobi will host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, the first time an African city has staged the event. Munich will host the following edition in 2031.
The decision was confirmed at a World Athletics council meeting in Budapest. World Athletics published an official press release titled 'Nairobi and Munich to host 2029 and 2031 World Athletics Championships' World Athletics.
Beijing comes first. The Chinese capital will host the World Athletics Championships in 2027 Yahoo Sports. Nairobi then takes the championships to Africa for the first time in 2029, with Munich to follow two years later.
London lost to Nairobi in the race for 2029 BBC Sport. Rome was the other city to miss out. The hosts for 2029 and 2031 had been scheduled to be announced on a Tuesday.
The UK bid was led by Athletic Ventures, a group made up of UK Athletics, London Marathon Events and the Great Run Company. Its proposed venue was the London Stadium, home of West Ham United. London last hosted the championships in 2017.
Nairobi has chased this before. The Kenyan capital previously bid for the 2025 championships but lost to Tokyo. Its Kasarani Stadium is being renovated before the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
The bid lands with Kenya in strong form. Kenya finished second in the medal table at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, with seven gold medals and 11 medals in total. The medal table ranks nations by golds, then silvers and bronzes. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe confirmed the awards.
For fans, this means something simple. The sport's biggest meeting outside the Olympics is going somewhere new. After Beijing, the road leads to Nairobi, then Munich.
