Kenya will make history as the first African nation to host the World Athletics Championships after securing the bid for the 2029 edition.
The event will be held in the capital, Nairobi, at the 48,000-seat Kasarani Stadium.
London and Rome were unsuccessful in their bids, while Munich has been awarded the right to host the championships in 2031.
Kenya’s formidable athletics tradition formed the cornerstone of its 2029 bid. The East African country has amassed 72 World Championship gold medals and 38 Olympic gold medals, with the vast majority earned in middle- and long-distance events.
Ranked as the second-most successful nation in the history of the World Championships, Kenya was championed by two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, who also claimed 5000m gold at the 2003 World Championships, during the bidding process.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe described the bid as “compelling and emotional”.
“Kenya is one of the great athletics nations,” Coe said.
“The sport is woven into the fabric of the country.”
“It was important that the World 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.”
The decision to award the championships to Nairobi marks a historic milestone for Africa, a continent that has never staged the senior World Championships despite being home to some of the sport’s most celebrated athletes.
Kenya’s bid also underscored its proven track record of hosting major athletics competitions, including the 2017 World Under-18 Championships and the 2021 World U20 Championships, both held in Nairobi, as well as the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa.
Kenya had previously sought to host the 2025 World Championships but was beaten by Tokyo, with infrastructure concerns cited as a key shortcoming.
On that occasion, the country pointed to significant upgrades to its existing facilities as evidence of its growing readiness.
Kenya has been actively renovating its stadiums in preparation for co-hosting next year’s Africa Cup of Nations alongside Tanzania and Uganda.
Kasarani Stadium is currently undergoing a comprehensive structural overhaul in anticipation of hosting matches at the continent’s premier football tournament.
