Nairobi to Host 2029 World Athletics Championships as Munich Gets 2031 Edition

Nairobi has been selected to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, making Kenya the first African country to stage the sport’s biggest global track and field event.

Munich, Germany, will host the 2031 edition, with the decisions announced during the 242nd World Athletics Council Meeting in Budapest on Monday and Tuesday, September 14–15.

The selections followed a highly competitive bidding process involving four cities, with World Athletics President Sebastian Coe describing the bids as among the strongest in the history of the championships.

“We were fortunate to have four outstanding bids for 2029 and 2031, and this was not an easy decision for the Council,” Coe said.

He added that Nairobi and Munich ultimately presented “two compelling propositions” that offered different but equally exciting opportunities for the sport.

The decisions mean the World Athletics Championships will be staged in Asia, Africa and Europe over the next three editions, with Beijing hosting the 2027 championships before Nairobi and Munich take their turns in 2029 and 2031.

Nairobi makes African history

Nairobi’s selection marks a historic milestone for athletics, bringing the World Athletics Championships to Africa for the first time.

Kenya has steadily built its credentials as a host of major international athletics events, with Nairobi staging the World U18 Championships in 2017 and the World U20 Championships in 2021.

Uganda hosted the World Cross Country Championships in Kampala in 2017, while Botswana staged the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone in 2026, becoming the first African host of the event.

Nairobi had previously bid to host the 2025 World Athletics Championships, which were eventually awarded to Tokyo. The Kenyan capital returned with a stronger proposal for 2029, drawing on years of experience hosting international athletics competitions.

The 2017 World U18 Championships demonstrated Kenya’s enormous appetite for athletics, with large crowds filling Kasarani Stadium throughout the competition.

Nairobi has also established the Kip Keino Classic as one of Africa’s leading one-day athletics meetings. The event has been part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold since the tour was launched in 2020.

Kasarani at centre of Nairobi bid

Nairobi’s successful bid combines operational and financial plans with an upgraded Kasarani Stadium and a broader vision for hosting the first World Athletics Championships on African soil.

The stadium is undergoing a major overhaul ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which Kenya will co-host with Tanzania and Uganda. The renovated facility is expected to provide the infrastructure required for the 2029 championships.

Kenya’s passion for athletics was also reflected in World Athletics fan research. About 68 per cent of Kenyans surveyed rated their interest in athletics as high, compared with a global average of 39 per cent.

Kenya was identified as the most athletics-interested market in the survey, while athletics ranked as the country’s second-most-followed sport after football.

The country is also the fourth-highest in terms of followers of World Athletics social media channels.

Kenya’s international success further strengthens Nairobi’s case. The country is the second-most successful nation in World Athletics Championships history and finished second on the medal table at the 2025 championships in Tokyo, winning seven gold medals and 11 medals overall.

Coe praises Kenya’s athletics heritage

Coe said Nairobi’s bid stood out not only because of its infrastructure but also because of Kenya’s deep connection with athletics.

“Nairobi presented a compelling and emotional bid, and taking the World Athletics Championships to Africa for the first time will be historic,” Coe said.

“Kenya is one of the great athletics nations. The sport is woven into the fabric of the country,” he added.

He cited a long list of Kenyan athletics legends, including Faith Kipyegon, Vivian Cheruiyot, Eliud Kipchoge, Hellen Obiri and David Rudisha, as well as Olympic champion Kip Keino, Paul Tergat and Tegla Loroupe.

Coe said Nairobi had demonstrated that the time was right for Africa to host the championships.

“It was important that the World Athletics 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,” he said.

Munich returns championships to Germany

Munich’s selection will bring the World Athletics Championships back to Germany for the first time since Berlin hosted the event in 2009.

Germany has continued to demonstrate its ability to host major athletics competitions, with Berlin staging the European Championships in 2018 and Munich hosting the multi-sport European Championships in 2022.

Munich’s Olympic Stadium was the centrepiece of the 2022 event, with athletics attracting about 267,000 spectators.

The championships also delivered a strong result for the hosts, with Germany topping the athletics medal table.

German athletics has maintained its momentum, winning five medals, including one gold, at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo before finishing third on the medal table at the European Championships in Birmingham.

World Athletics also highlighted Germany’s large athletics membership and its strategy to expand participation in the sport.

Munich bid focuses on sport, culture and sustainability

Coe said Munich’s proposal offered an opportunity to combine Germany’s strong athletics tradition with the cultural character of the city.

“Germany has proved time and again that it is an outstanding and dependable host for major athletics events,” he said.

He pointed to Munich’s Olympic Park as an iconic sporting venue capable of hosting a championship that combines athletics with art and culture.

The venue is also expected to play a major role in the sustainability plans for the 2031 championships.

“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,” Coe said.

He added that the atmosphere and attendance during the 2022 European Championships demonstrated the strong appetite for major athletics events in Munich and across Germany.

Beijing to host 2027 championships

The next World Athletics Championships will be held in Beijing from September 10–19, 2027.

Nairobi will then make history as the first African host in 2029, before the championships return to Europe for Munich 2031.

Both the Nairobi and Munich editions are expected to take place in September, in line with World Athletics’ objective of positioning the global championship as the climax of the athletics season.