The vote came on Tuesday at the 242nd World Athletics Council meeting in Budapest, where the governing body confirmed that Kenya’s capital had beaten a shortlist that also included London, Rome and Munich. The German city was handed the 2031 edition in the same sitting.
Kenya is the sport’s second-most successful nation in the history of the World Championships, trailing only the United States. That the flagship event has never been staged on the African continent, in more than four decades of Championships, has long been an anomaly the sport’s leadership has flagged.
Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics president, made the case for Nairobi in emotional terms.
“Taking our championships to Africa for the first time will be historic. Nairobi has presented a compelling and an emotional bid,” Coe said.
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“Athletics is woven into the fabric of Kenya.”
Kasarani Stadium at the centre of the plan
The Championships will be staged at Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium, the same venue undergoing a full renovation ahead of Kenya’s co-hosting of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. Nairobi has hosted global age-group meetings before, staging the World Under-18 Championships in 2017 and the World Under-20 Championships in 2021, but the senior worlds are a different order of scale.
Coe pointed to Kenyan appetite for the sport as one of the pillars of the bid. According to World Athletics research cited in the press release, 68 percent of Kenyans polled rate their interest in athletics as high, against a global average of 39 percent.
Kenya has bid unsuccessfully before, with the 2025 Championships eventually going to Tokyo. The country has produced generations of distance and middle-distance champions, from Kip Keino to Eliud Kipchoge and Faith Kipyegon.
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Kenya’s government hails a “national story”
Salim Mvurya, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Sports, framed the award as recognition of a country whose relationship with the track goes beyond sport.
“The world will come to a country where running is more than competition. It is our national story,” Mvurya said.
Munich’s 2031 hosting will be the third time Germany has staged the World Championships, and it slots the event into the Olympiastadion at the city’s Olympiapark. Beijing already holds the rights to the 2027 edition, meaning the three next Championships will move across three continents in succession.
The 2029 dates have not yet been published by World Athletics. Kasarani’s renovation timetable is tied to Afcon 2027, and the Championships schedule will be finalised as that project progresses.
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