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Nairobi will host the 2029 World Outdoor Athletics Championships, becoming the first African city to stage the event. World Athletics also awarded the 2031 championships to Munich, while Beijing is set to host the 2027 edition.
Nairobi will host the 2029 World Outdoor Athletics Championships, becoming the first Africa n host of the global track and field event, World Athletics announced Tuesday.
The Kenyan capital defeated bids from London, Munich and Rome in the selection process. World Athletics made the decision after a council meeting in Budapest, which had hosted the recently concluded Ultimate Championship. The governing body also confirmed that Munich will stage the 2031 championships. The 2027 World Athletics Championships have already been awarded to Beijing.
The sequence of host cities means the next three editions will be held across Asia, Africa and Europe. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the council had received four strong bids for the 2029 and 2031 championships. He acknowledged that selecting the hosts had been difficult.
'We were fortunate to have four outstanding bids for 2029 and 2031, and this was not an easy decision for the Council,' Coe told a press conference. Coe described Nairobi's selection as a historic step for the sport. He said Africa had been chosen because the governing body believed Nairobi offered the appropriate host, bid and circumstances for the championships.
'This council decision today means we're able to deliver our World Athletics Championships in Asia, Africa, and Europe over its next three editions,' Coe said. 'Taking our championships to Africa for the first time will be historic. Nairobi has presented a compelling and an emotional bid.
' He added that bringing the championships to Africa had been important, but that the event needed to go to a host city capable of delivering a strong bid and creating a lasting impact. '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 said.
'Nairobi has demonstrated emphatically that this is their moment to supercharge the development of our sport in Kenya and across Africa, leaving a compelling legacy that inspires a continent. ' The award marks a major opportunity for Kenya, a country with a long-standing reputation in distance running and a deep athletics tradition. It also gives the country the chance to stage the sport's leading outdoor championship for the first time.
Kenya previously failed in its bid to host the 2025 World Athletics Championships. That edition was ultimately not included in the new announcement, but the unsuccessful campaign preceded Nairobi's successful 2029 proposal. The country has nevertheless hosted several major international athletics events. Mombasa staged the 2007 World Cross Country Championships, while Nairobi hosted the World Under-18 Championships in 2017 and the World Under-20 Championships in 2021.
Nairobi also staged the 2010 African Athletics Championships. Those events form part of the city's experience as it prepares to welcome the senior world outdoor championships. The 2029 meeting will give athletes from across the world a championship platform in Africa for the first time. World Athletics said the decision would help support the development of the sport in Kenya and throughout the continent.
For Nairobi, the award combines sporting significance with a broader legacy ambition. Coe said the city's bid was compelling and emotional, and that its timing created an opportunity to strengthen athletics at national, regional and continental levels. The hosting sequence announced in Budapest places Beijing first in 2027, Nairobi in 2029 and Munich in 2031. Together, the three editions will take the championships to three different continents and mark the first African staging in the event's history.
Historic World Athletic Championships World Athletics Championships Nairobi Sebastian Coe Munich Africa Nairobi 2029 World Athletics Championships World Athletics Kenya Athletics Munich 2031 Championships
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