Kenya will become the first African country to host the World Athletics Championships after Nairobi won the bid for the 2029 edition, World Athletics announced Tuesday following its council meeting in Budapest.
The championships will be held at the 48,000 capacity Kasarani Stadium, marking the first time the sport’s flagship global event has come to Africa despite the continent producing many of its biggest stars. London and Rome missed out on the 2029 bid, while World Athletics separately awarded the 2031 championships to Munich, returning the event to Germany for the first time since Berlin in 2009.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe called Nairobi’s bid compelling and emotional. “Kenya is one of the great athletics nations. The sport is woven into the fabric of the country,” Coe said, adding that the timing was right to bring the championships to Africa given Nairobi’s readiness and the strength of its bid.
What We Know So Far
Kenya’s bid leaned heavily on its athletics heritage. The country holds 72 World Championship medals and 38 Olympic gold medals, predominantly in middle and long distance running, making it the second most successful nation in World Championships history. Two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, who also won 5,000 meter gold at the 2003 World Championships, was among those who advocated for Nairobi during the bidding process.
The bid also drew on Nairobi’s experience hosting major athletics events, including the 2017 World Under-18 Championships and the 2021 World U20 Championships, along with the 2007 World Cross Country Championships held in Mombasa. Kenya had previously bid unsuccessfully to host the 2025 championships, which went to Tokyo, with infrastructure cited as a key weakness at the time. For the 2029 bid, Kenya pointed to ongoing stadium renovations as evidence of improved readiness, including a complete structural overhaul of Kasarani Stadium ahead of Kenya’s co-hosting of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations alongside Tanzania and Uganda.
Coe said World Athletics received four outstanding bids for the 2029 and 2031 championships, calling the selection process one of the most competitive in the event’s history. He said the decision allows the organization to continue its mission of growing the sport globally, with championships now set to take place across Asia, Africa and Europe over its next three editions, following the 2027 championships in Beijing. Both the Nairobi and Munich championships are scheduled for September, consistent with the Beijing event’s timing.
Nairobi’s selection also builds on a broader recent history of major athletics events held across Africa, including the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda, and the first African edition of the World Athletics Relays, held in Gaborone, Botswana, in 2026.
What Authorities Are Saying
Kenyan President William Ruto called the decision a historic victory for Kenya and the African continent. “The World Athletics Championships are coming home! Our country has won the right to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, making Kenya the first African nation to stage the premier global athletics competition,” Ruto said.
Ruto credited generations of Kenyan athletes for establishing the country’s global reputation in distance running, and thanked Athletics Kenya, the Ministry of Sports, Youth Affairs and the Creative Economy, and the broader bid team for their work securing the championships. He pledged that Kenya would deliver a championship worthy of its athletes and its standing in the sport.
Why This Matters
The selection marks a significant milestone for African athletics, given that the continent has produced some of the sport’s most dominant competitors, particularly in distance running, without ever hosting the senior World Championships. Awarding the event to Nairobi reflects both Kenya’s athletic pedigree and a broader pattern of the sport’s governing body expanding major events into regions with growing hosting experience but no prior history staging the championships themselves.
The timing aligns with a broader Kenyan push to position the country as a host for major international sporting events, layering the 2029 World Athletics Championships on top of its co-hosting role for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. The overlapping infrastructure investment tied to both events, particularly the Kasarani Stadium renovation, suggests Kenya is using the football tournament’s preparation timeline to simultaneously strengthen its case and physical readiness for the athletics championships.
Beyond the sporting significance, the event is expected to generate economic activity across tourism, hospitality, transportation and Kenya’s creative economy sectors as the country prepares to host athletes, officials and international visitors, extending the championships’ impact well beyond the stadium itself.
What Happens Next
World Athletics said it will now begin working directly with both Nairobi and Munich to prepare for their respective championships. Kenya is expected to continue stadium and infrastructure upgrades in the coming years, with much of that work already underway ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
Ruto said Kenya’s focus now shifts to honoring the trust placed in it by World Athletics and delivering a successful event for the country, Africa and the sport. Further details on specific preparation timelines and infrastructure milestones are expected as planning for the 2029 championships progresses.
Reporting drawn from the BBC, Reuters and The Star
