Kenya wins bid to host 2029 World Athletics Championships
An aerial view of the running track at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
Kenya has won the right to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships. World Athletics Council made the announcement on Tuesday in Budapest, Hungary.
Kenya becomes the first African country to stage the global track and field championship, and the country’s bid is centered around Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi.
German city of Munich will stage the 2031 edition of the competition.
Nairobi was competing against Munich, Rome and London for the right to host the 2029 and 2031 editions of the global track and field championship. Beijing will host the 2027 championship.
The decision, made during the 242nd World Athletics Council Meeting in Budapest on Tuesday, means that the World Athletics Championships will be held in Africa for the first time when the Kenyan capital stages the 2029 edition, before returning to Germany for a third time two years later, in Munich’s iconic Olympic Stadium.
“We were fortunate to have four outstanding bids for 2029 and 2031, and this was not an easy decision for the Council,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said after making the announcement.
“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,” he added.
"Nairobi presented a compelling and emotional bid, and taking the World Athletics Championships to Africa for the first time will be historic,” said Coe.
“Kenya is one of the great athletics nations. The sport is woven into the fabric of the country, and athletes such as world gold medallists Faith Kipyegon, Vivian Cheruiyot, Eliud Kipchoge, Hellen Obiri and David Rudisha, as well as two-time Olympic champion Kip Keino, multiple world cross-country champion Paul Tergat and multiple world half marathon champion Tegla Loroupe, have shaped the history of our sport.
“It was important that the World Athletics 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.”
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