Nairobi chosen ahead of London to host 2029 World Athletics Championships

London lost its bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships to Nairobi, a decision confirmed at a World Athletics council meeting in Budapest on 15 September 2026. Nairobi will be the first African city to stage the World Athletics Championships.

"We were fortunate to have four outstanding bids for 2029 and 2031, and this was not an easy decision for the council," said World Athletics president Sebastian Coe. "With this decision today, we continue to fulfil our mission of growing athletics worldwide with the hosting of our World Athletics Championships in Asia, Africa and Europe over its next three editions."

The London Stadium had been proposed as the host venue for the 2029 bid. The stadium is the home of West Ham United, was used for the 2012 Olympic Games and serves as the regular venue for the London Diamond League. It was also utilised when the city last hosted the World Athletics Championships in 2017.

The bid process involved four cities: London, Nairobi, Rome and Munich. Rome was the other city named as having missed out on hosting the 2029 event.

World Athletics confirmed that Munich will host the 2031 World Athletics Championships. The 2031 event will be the third time the championships are held at the German city's Olympic stadium.

"Nairobi and Munich ultimately presented two compelling propositions. They offer very different but equally exciting opportunities for our sport, and I am delighted that we can now begin working with both cities to stage two world-class championships," said World Athletics president Sebastian Coe.