A first in Africa: Nairobi, Kenya, to host 2029 World Athletics Championships
Kenya will become the first African nation to host the World Athletics Championships come 2029.
The country’s capital, Nairobi, will host the tournament at the 48,000-capacity Kasarani Stadium.
London and Rome missed out on the 2029 rights, while Munich was awarded the 2031 championships.
Kenya’s running heritage makes the difference
Central to Kenya’s successful bid was its deep athletics heritage.
Kenya is the second-most successful nation in the history of the World Championships, with 72 gold medals, and has claimed 38 Olympic golds - the vast majority of them in middle- and long-distance events.
The country has also produced some of athletics’ biggest names.
Two-time Olympic marathon champion and 2003 World Championships 5000m gold medallist Eliud Kipchoge was among those pushing Kenya’s bid.
"Kenya is one of the great athletics nations," said World Athletics president Sebastian Coe.
"The sport is woven into the fabric of the country.
"It was important that the World 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 also described Kenya’s bid as "compelling and emotional."
"We were fortunate to have four outstanding bids for 2029 and 2031, and this was not an easy decision for the Council,” added Coe.
"The quality, ambition and commitment demonstrated by all four candidates underlines the strength and global appeal of the World Athletics Championships.
"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."
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Hosting experience
The 2029 World Championships will not be Kenya’s first major athletics event.
The country previously hosted the 2017 World Under-18 and 2021 World U20 Championships in Nairobi and the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, the nation’s coastal city.
Kenya lost out on the 2025 World Championships to Tokyo, largely because of infrastructure concerns. This time, improved facilities proved decisive.
Upgrades to existing venues and the development of new ones have accelerated as the country prepares to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with Tanzania and Uganda.
Kasarani Stadium, which will host the 2029 World Championships, is currently undergoing a complete structural overhaul in preparation for Africa’s biggest football tournament.
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