Nairobi will host the 2029 World Athletics Championships. This makes Kenya the first African country to stage the global track and field event.
According to AFP, Kenya defeated rival bids from London, Munich and Rome. This followed the World Athletics Council’s decision at a meeting in Budapest on Tuesday.
Munich was awarded the 2031 championships, while Beijing had already been selected to host the 2027 edition.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the decision to take the championships to Africa for the first time was historic.
“Taking our championships to Africa for the first time will be historic. Nairobi has presented a compelling and an emotional bid,” Coe said.
Nairobi makes athletics history
Coe said World Athletics had received four strong bids for the 2029 and 2031 championships, making the selection difficult.
“We were fortunate to have four outstanding bids for 2029 and 2031, and this was not an easy decision for the Council,” he said.
The former Olympic champion said the sequence of Beijing, Nairobi and Munich would allow World Athletics to stage its flagship championships across Asia, Africa and Europe.
“It was important that the world championship should come to Africa when we had the right host, the right bid, and the right circumstances,” Coe added.
“Nairobi has demonstrated emphatically that this is their moment to supercharge the development of our sport in Kenya and across Africa.”
Kenya had previously submitted an unsuccessful bid to host the 2025 championships.
The country has, however, staged several major international athletics competitions. These included the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, the 2017 World Under-18 Championships, and the 2021 World Under-20 Championships in Nairobi.
The Kenyan capital also hosted the 2010 African Athletics Championships.
Kasarani Stadium gets major upgrade
Coe said Nairobi’s previous bidding experience had strengthened its latest proposal.
“Having also been part of the bidding process for 2025, the team understood and grasped what was required, and came back with a stronger proposition,” he said.
The Kasarani Stadium is expected to play a central role in the championships. It is undergoing major renovation ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
Coe said Kenya’s deep connection with athletics and its passionate supporters also strengthened the bid.
“Athletics is woven into the fabric of Kenya,” he said. He pointed to athletes including world and Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon as examples of Kenyan stars who have shaped the sport.
Kenyan Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya described the decision as recognition of the country’s standing in global athletics.
“The global athletics family has affirmed Kenya’s place at the heart of World Athletics,” Mvurya said.
“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.”
Munich gets 2031 event
Munich hosted the 2022 European Athletics Championships at its Olympic Park. The city will stage the World Championships two years after Nairobi.
“Germany has proved time and time again that it is an outstanding and creative host for major athletics events,” Coe said.
“We know Germany has an audience for athletics, and we know Munich 2031 has all the ingredients to be a spectacular World Athletics Championships.”
Coe also defended the decision to stage three successive editions outside Europe’s traditional athletics strongholds. This happened before the event returns to Munich.
He said World Athletics had a responsibility to expand the sport’s global reach. It must also provide its more than 200 member federations with opportunities to host major competitions.
Nairobi’s selection marks another major milestone for African athletics. It will bring the sport’s biggest global championship to the continent for the first time.
