On Tuesday, World Athletics announced that Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, will host the first World Athletics Championships in Africa, set to take place in 2029, while the 2031 edition will be held in Munich, Germany. The official decision was reached during a meeting of the international athletics federation held in Budapest.
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“We were fortunate to have four exceptional bids for 2029 and 2031, and this was not an easy decision for the Council, which continues to fulfill its mission of promoting athletics globally by holding our World Athletics Championships in Asia, Africa, and Europe across the next three editions,” stated Sebastian Coe, the British president of World Athletics.
He noted that the international federation’s primary goal is to boost athletics worldwide by hosting its premier competitions across different continents.
The Nairobi World Championships will build upon World Athletics’ growing track record of successful events held in Africa.
The continent has demonstrated its organizational capabilities through recent milestones: Kampala, Uganda, hosted the World Cross Country Championships in 2017; Nairobi itself hosted the World U18 Championships that same year and the World U20 Championships in 2021; and Gaborone, Botswana, hosted the World Athletics Relays in 2026, marking the first time this major event was held on African soil.
As part of this progression, Nairobi has established itself as a highly prestigious host city for World Athletics, having presented a far more comprehensive bid than the one submitted for 2025—an edition that was awarded to Tokyo.
Kenya’s strong connection to athletics is reflected in fan statistics. Approximately 68% of Kenyans surveyed rated their interest in athletics as high, compared to a global average of 39%. This makes Kenya the market with the greatest interest in the sport, boasting the highest Net Promoter Score of all markets. Furthermore, athletics is the second most popular sport in the country, and Kenya ranks fourth in terms of social media followers for the federation.
Meanwhile, Germany has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to host major, high-level athletics events. Berlin hosted the European Championships in 2018, and Munich’s Olympic Stadium hosted the 2022 European Championships, drawing an attendance of approximately 267,000 spectators for the athletics events.
“Nairobi and Munich presented two very attractive bids… I am pleased that we can now begin working with both cities to organize two world-class championships,” noted Coe. Regarding the German host city, he added, “The Olympiapark is also a symbol of sustainability… in line with international best practices.”
Consequently, the upcoming World Athletics Championships will take place in Beijing from September 10 to 19, 2027. Both Nairobi 2029 and Munich 2031 will also be held in September, aligning with the goal of having the global athletics calendar culminate at the end of the season with a major world championship.
Author: HGV/JF
Source: World Athletics
Source: teleSUR
