Nairobi, Kenya | September 15, 2026

Kenya has secured the right to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships in Nairobi, marking a historic milestone as the global athletics showpiece heads to Africa for the first time.

World Athletics announced Nairobi as the host city on Tuesday following a council meeting in Budapest, Hungary. The decision places Kenya at the centre of the global athletics calendar and recognises the country’s longstanding connection with the sport.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe welcomed Nairobi’s successful bid, highlighting Kenya’s deep athletics heritage and its experience in hosting major international competitions.

The championships are expected to be staged at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, which is undergoing a major structural overhaul ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. The facility is set to form the centrepiece of Nairobi’s preparations for the global event.

The award follows Kenya’s earlier unsuccessful bid to host the 2025 World Athletics Championships, which were eventually awarded to Tokyo. Nairobi subsequently strengthened its proposal before returning to the bidding process for the 2029 edition.

Kenya’s record of hosting major athletics events also strengthened its case. Nairobi hosted the World Athletics U18 Championships in 2017 and the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2021, giving the country valuable experience in staging international competitions.

Hosting the championships could also provide opportunities for Kenya’s tourism, hospitality and sports sectors as athletes, officials, media and fans from around the world converge on Nairobi.

The event will further give Kenya’s leading athletes an opportunity to compete on home soil, potentially creating a major occasion for a country that has consistently produced world-class performers, particularly in distance running.

Kenya’s selection also comes amid continued attention on the country’s anti-doping record. The government and athletics authorities have been working to strengthen testing, education and other anti-doping measures, an issue that will remain important as Kenya prepares to host the global championships.

The 2029 championships will form part of the next hosting sequence, with Beijing set to stage the 2027 edition and Munich, Germany, selected for 2031.

For Kenya, the focus now shifts from securing the hosting rights to delivering the infrastructure, organisation and facilities required to stage one of the sport’s biggest global events.

The award marks a landmark moment for African sport and gives Kenya an opportunity to showcase its athletics heritage and organisational capacity to a worldwide audience when Nairobi welcomes the world’s leading athletes in 2029.