World Athletics have confirmed Nairobi as the host city for the 2029 World Athletics Championships.
The report indicates that world Athletics have confirmed Nairobi as the host city for the 2029 World Athletics Championships.
It further notes that the Kenyan capital was chosen by the World Athletics Council during its meeting in Budapest on Monday and Tuesday, September 14-15.
Germany’s Munich will host the 2031 championships.
Nairobi’s selection is a major milestone for African athletics and builds on the continent’s growing experience of hosting major World Athletics events.
Kenya has previously hosted the World U18 Championships in Nairobi in 2017 and the World U20 Championships in 2021. Uganda hosted the World Cross Country Championships in Kampala in 2017, while Botswana staged the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone in 2026 – the first time that event was held in Africa.
But the 2029 championships will be different.
For the first time, Africa will welcome the full World Athletics Championships, bringing the world’s leading track and field athletes to the continent.
Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium will be at the centre of the event.
The stadium is currently undergoing a major renovation ahead of Kenya co-hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, giving the country an opportunity to have a modernised venue ready for the athletics championships two years later.
Nairobi’s case was strengthened by its growing reputation as a major athletics hub.
The city has hosted the Kip Keino Classic, one of Africa’s leading one-day athletics meetings and part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold since its launch in 2020.
The 2017 World U18 Championships also demonstrated Kenya’s huge appetite for athletics, with large crowds turning out at Kasarani Stadium throughout the competition.
That passion is reflected in World Athletics research, which found that 68% of Kenyans surveyed have a high interest in athletics, compared with a global average of 39%.
Athletics is also Kenya’s second-most-followed sport behind football.
