World Athletics confirmed Nairobi as the host city for the 2029 World Athletics Championships during its council meeting in Budapest on 14‑15 September. The decision marks the first time the full championships will be held in Africa, following Kenya’s previous role as host for the 2017 World U18 Championships and the 2021 World U20 Championships.
Germany’s Munich will host the 2031 championships. Nairobi’s selection builds on the country’s growing experience of staging major athletics events and its reputation as a major athletics hub, having hosted the Kip Keino Classic, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, since 2020.
Kasarani Stadium, currently undergoing a major renovation in preparation for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, will be the centrepiece of the 2029 championships. The upgrade gives Kenya a modernised venue ready for the global event two years later.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe praised Nairobi’s bid as compelling, noting that the sport is “woven into the fabric” of the country. He said, “Taking the World Athletics Championships to Africa for the first time will be historic.”
Kenya is the second‑most successful nation in World Athletics Championships history and finished second on the 2025 medal table with seven gold medals. The country has produced legendary athletes such as Faith Kipyegon, Eliud Kipchoge, Hellen Obiri, David Rudisha, Vivian Cheruiyot and Kip Keino.
With the 2029 championships, Nairobi will showcase Africa’s passion for athletics, where a World Athletics survey found 68% of Kenyans have a high interest in the sport, compared with a global average of 39%.
The championships will represent a historic breakthrough for African athletics, bringing the sport’s biggest stage to a continent that has produced generations of world‑class distance runners but has never before hosted the full World Athletics Championships.
