Nairobi and Munich awarded 2029 and 2031 World Athletics Championships
Nairobi will become the first African host of the World Athletics Championships in 2029, followed by Munich in 2031.
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World Athletics announced on September 15, 2026 that Nairobi will host the 2029 World Athletics Championships and Munich the 2031 edition. The Council decision, taken in Budapest, is historic: Kenya's capital will become the first African city to stage the outdoor championships. Official World Athletics release
Nairobi: a first for Africa
The renovated Kasarani Stadium will be central to the 2029 event. Nairobi has previously hosted World U18 and U20 competitions, while the Kip Keino Classic has established the city on the international athletics calendar.
Kenya's sporting case is reinforced by results: it is the second-most successful nation in World Championships history and collected seven gold medals and eleven medals overall at Tokyo 2025.
Munich: back to the Olympic Stadium
The 2031 championships will take the sport's flagship event to Munich's Olympiapark. Germany last staged the World Championships in Berlin in 2009. Munich's 2022 multi-sport European Championships drew approximately 267,000 spectators to athletics.
The next outdoor World Championships will be held in Beijing from September 10–19, 2027. Read the BSR review of the Budapest Ultimate Championship.
