Nairobi beats London to host 2029 World Athletics Championships

What happened

Nairobi will host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, ending London's attempt to bring the competition back to the capital with £45m in public backing. The Kenyan city will become the first African host of the championships, taking the event to a continent with a long tradition of international athletics success.

The World Athletics council confirmed its choice at a meeting in Budapest. It also awarded the 2031 championships to Munich, which will stage the competition for the first time. Rome was the other unsuccessful contender in a selection process covering four bids and two editions.

London had proposed using the London Stadium, the venue at the centre of the 2012 Olympic Games and the city's 2017 world championships. The bid sought access to the ground in September 2029, requiring agreement with its football tenant, West Ham United.

The public funding secured for London's proposal comprised £35m from the government and £10m from the mayor's office. Its organisers believed the stadium could attract crowds of around 60,000 each evening across a week of competition, building their case around the commercial success of the previous London championships.

For Nairobi, the award follows an unsuccessful attempt to secure the 2025 edition, which went to Tokyo. Kenya finished second in the medal table at those championships, taking seven golds among its 11 medals — a competitive record that underlines its standing in the sport.

The background

Athletic Ventures led the British campaign. The partnership brings together UK Athletics, London Marathon Events and the Great Run Company, combining the national governing body with two organisations involved in delivering large running events.

The London proposal relied on a stadium that continues to accommodate both football and athletics. Alongside serving as West Ham United's home, it stages the annual London Diamond League meeting. That existing athletics role gave the bid a venue with experience beyond its two biggest international competitions.

However, negotiations over permission to use the ground continued until shortly before the formal bid submission. West Ham's agreement came last month, ending a lengthy dispute over access. The timing meant an important part of London's hosting arrangements was settled only near the submission deadline.

The European Athletics Championships in Birmingham last month also brought attention to domestic spectator demand. Nearly 10,000 seats were empty at the 23,000-capacity Alexander Stadium, and some supporters blamed ticket prices. Those attendances contrasted with the packed sessions envisaged by the London campaign.

Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, declined to say whether the stadium negotiations or Birmingham's crowds influenced the council's decision. Some members of the London bid team regarded those issues as irrelevant, believing instead that the governing body's ambition to take the competition to Kenya, alongside the scale of Nairobi's proposal, proved decisive.

Nairobi's case included improvements to Kasarani Stadium. Renovation work is taking place ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, strengthening the city's venue proposition for the athletics championships two years later. The preparations link its athletics ambitions with another major international sporting competition.

Munich's selection sits within Germany's established record of hosting athletics. Berlin staged the world championships in 2009, while both Berlin and Munich have hosted the European championships. Coe highlighted the atmosphere and spectator support at Munich's 2022 European event when explaining the city's credentials.

What people are saying

Coe described the choice of Nairobi as a significant step in expanding athletics internationally. He said the council had faced a difficult decision between strong candidates and emphasised Kenya's distance-running heritage, the importance of the sport within the country and Nairobi's role as an East African economic, cultural and political centre.

His explanation focused on matching the ambition for an African championships with a suitable city and proposal. He argued that Nairobi now offered that combination, placing the award within World Athletics' wider objective of spreading its leading competition across different regions rather than concentrating it in familiar host countries.

Jack Buckner, chief executive of UK Athletics and a co-founder of Athletic Ventures, expressed disappointment at the outcome. He said the organisers had believed their proposal could help develop the sport, and thanked the government, Mayor of London, UK Sport, stadium operators, West Ham and other partners for supporting the campaign.

Amber Anning, the world indoor 400m champion and British record holder, had hoped to experience a home championships as a competitor after watching the 2017 event from the stands. She recalled the strength of London's crowds but also welcomed the prospect of Africa hosting, drawing encouragement from this year's World Relays in Botswana.

Greg Rutherford, who won Olympic long jump gold at London 2012, shared that disappointment while supporting the opportunity for change. He suggested London's relatively recent turn as host might have counted against it, praised Nairobi's proposal and argued that African nations should have more opportunities to stage major athletics events.

What happens next

UK Athletics will review the outcome and consider other opportunities to bring international athletes to Britain. Buckner said the organisation would regroup after the decision, while also congratulating Nairobi and wishing its organising committee success with preparations for 2029.

Those preparations will take place against scrutiny of doping in Kenyan athletics. The Athletics Integrity Unit has banned 148 elite Kenyan athletes, placing the country's anti-doping record alongside its sporting achievements as an important issue surrounding the award.

A World Athletics spokesperson defended the selection, citing the Kenyan government's commitment to spend $5m annually on anti-doping. The governing body said Kenya had made progress and argued that hosting could strengthen the government's efforts by increasing attention on clean competition and encouraging compliance.

Germany, meanwhile, is preparing a possible bid for the 2036 or 2040 Summer Olympics. Munich's award adds another global athletics competition to its hosting programme as the country develops those ambitions, following a presentation that impressed the World Athletics evaluation panel.

Britain's international sporting programme still includes the opening stages of the men's and women's Tour de France in 2027 and the men's European football championship in 2028. It is also bidding for the 2035 Women's World Cup, while the government has shown interest in a possible Olympic bid for 2040.

Why this matters

For UK athletics supporters hoping to attend the 2029 championships, the destination is now Kenya rather than London. That changes the practical proposition from a home event to an overseas trip; Munich will provide a European host for the following edition in 2031.

For British competitors, the decision removes the prospect of that 2029 home championship but opens a different setting for the sport's leading contest. Anning's response highlighted the potential to inspire another generation in Africa, where athletes will compete at these championships on home continental ground for the first time.