Nairobi to host 2029 World Athletics Championships in historic first for Africa

Kenya has finally landed athletics' biggest outdoor event.

World Athletics announced on September 15, 2026, that Nairobi will host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, while Munich was selected for 2031.

The decision followed a two-day World Athletics Council meeting in Budapest.

The 2029 championship will be the first senior World Athletics Championships held in Africa.

The previous championships in Tokyo in 2025 were followed by Beijing in 2027, with Nairobi taking the event in September 2029.

For a country whose global sporting identity has been built around athletics, the choice carries obvious weight.

Kasarani Stadium

The competition will be staged at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Nairobi's main athletics venue.

Kasarani already has international championship experience.

It hosted the 2017 World U18 Championships and the 2021 World U20 Championships, while Nairobi's annual Kip Keino Classic has become one of Africa's leading one-day meetings on the World Athletics Continental Tour.

The stadium is also being renovated ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which Kenya will co-host with Uganda and Tanzania.

That work gives Nairobi a head start, but the World Championships will place a different set of demands on the venue, from competition surfaces and field-event facilities to broadcasting, accreditation, medical services and spectator operations.

Athletics factor in Kenya's bid

Nairobi's victory also closes a chapter that began with a failed bid.

Kenya previously sought to host the 2025 World Athletics Championships, but Tokyo won the right to stage the event.

This time, World Athletics said Nairobi returned with a stronger bid built around its experience in major competitions, financial guarantees, operational planning, a renovated Kasarani and Kenya's unusually strong connection with athletics.

The numbers help explain that connection. World Athletics said research found 68% of Kenyans surveyed had a high interest in athletics, compared with 39% globally.

Kenya is also the second-most successful country in World Championships history and won seven gold medals and 11 medals overall at the 2025 Tokyo championships.

That gives Nairobi something many potential hosts cannot manufacture: a ready-made athletics audience.

The global event

The World Athletics Championships are not one race stretched across several days.

They bring together the world's leading athletes in sprints, middle- and long-distance running, hurdles, road events, jumps and throws, alongside extensive qualifying and final sessions.

The 2029 championships are expected to attract athletes, coaches, officials, broadcasters, sponsors and fans from around the world.

For Nairobi, that means the sporting event will spill far beyond Kasarani.

Hotels, airlines, restaurants, transport operators, retailers and event companies will all be part of the hosting ecosystem.

So will Kenya's security, healthcare and communications systems.

The impact of the event

Major sporting events are increasingly treated as tourism and investment platforms, and Nairobi has plenty to sell.

Kenya already has a global reputation for distance running and a strong training ecosystem centred around places such as Iten and Kaptagat.

Bringing the World Championships here allows the country to connect that sporting reputation with tourism, hospitality and business opportunities.

The event can also leave a physical legacy if the investments made for hosting are maintained after the closing ceremony.

The harder question, however, is cost.

Kenya will need to finish the stadium works, strengthen transport and accommodation capacity and meet World Athletics' technical and operational requirements.

A successful championship is therefore not judged only by a packed stadium or medal tally, but by whether the infrastructure built for it continues serving Kenyans afterwards.

Nairobi races against the clock

Kasarani's current overhaul has to deliver a stadium capable of hosting another major international competition two years later.

That effectively gives Kenya a dress rehearsal before the athletics world's biggest outdoor event arrives.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe described Nairobi's bid as a “compelling and emotional” proposition and said Kenya's connection with the sport made it the right moment to bring the championships to Africa.