World Athletics Awards 2029 Championships to Nairobi and 2031 to Munich

Council decision in Budapest

The World Athletics Council selected Nairobi to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships and Munich to host the 2031 edition during its 242nd council meeting in Budapest on Tuesday. Nairobi's selection marks the first time the senior outdoor championships will take place on the African continent. Both European bids from London and Rome were eliminated during the council vote, which World Athletics described as one of the closest in the history of the event. The governing body confirmed that both the 2029 and 2031 competitions will take place in September, creating an end-of-season peak for the international athletics schedule.

We had the good fortune of having four exceptional bids for 2029 and 2031 and this was not an easy decision for the Council, which continues to fulfill its mission of growing athletics globally by taking our World Athletics Championships to Asia, Africa and Europe across its next three editions.

Kenyan infrastructure and continental track record

Nairobi secured the 2029 tournament after failing in its previous bid for the 2025 championships, which World Athletics awarded to Tokyo. The revised proposal centered on the complete refurbishment of the Kasarani Stadium, a facility currently undergoing modernization ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations football tournament. Kenya built its hosting credentials on earlier competitions, including the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, the 2010 African Championships in Nairobi, the 2017 World U18 Championships, and the 2021 World U20 Championships. The country has also staged the annual Kip Keino Classic meeting since 2020 on the Continental Tour Gold circuit, following broader African hosting developments such as the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala and the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Gaborone.

It is Kenya's time, Africa's time and a win for the generations of athletes who made our nation synonymous with excellence on the track, roads and cross-country.

National athletic pedigree and fan base

Kenya is the second most successful nation in the history of the World Athletics Championships, accumulating 72 gold medals behind only the United States, alongside 38 Olympic gold medals won primarily in middle- and long-distance running. At the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, the Kenyan delegation placed second in the medal table with seven gold medals and eleven medals in total. Two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge participated directly in lobbying for the Nairobi bid alongside a heritage of runners that includes David Rudisha, Faith Kipyegon, Vivian Cheruiyot, and Hellen Obiri. A World Athletics survey established that 68% of surveyed Kenyans rated their interest in athletics as high, compared with a 39% global average. Athletics ranks as Kenya's second most followed sport behind football, and the country ranks fourth globally in total followers across World Athletics social media platforms.

Munich venue and three-continent schedule

The 2031 edition will return the championships to Germany for the first time since Berlin hosted the event in 2009. Munich will stage the track and field events at the Olympiastadion, following the city's multi-sport hosting track record and Berlin's staging of the 2018 European Athletics Championships. With Beijing scheduled to host the 2027 World Athletics Championships, the selections establish a consecutive three-continent cycle taking the global championships from Asia to Africa and back to Europe.