Kenya bids to make history as first African nation to host World Athletics Championships

Kenya has formally submitted its bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, seeking to become the first African nation to stage track and field’s biggest global showpiece.

Athletics Kenya confirmed the submission this week, describing the bid as “robust” and backed by full government support.
Nairobi now joins London, Rome and Munich in contention for hosting rights, with World Athletics expected to announce its decision next month, following the Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

At the heart of Kenya’s proposal is the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani, a 48,000-capacity venue that would serve as the primary competition site.
The government has pledged to underwrite the security, infrastructure and organisational framework needed to deliver a championship of that scale.

This marks Kenya’s second bid for the event, after a previous attempt to host the 2025 edition lost out to Tokyo. Officials believe the country’s track record staging major athletics events strengthens its case this time around.

World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, the World Under-18 Championships in Nairobi in 2017, and the World U20 Championships, also in Nairobi, in 2021.
The country also stages annual World Athletics Gold Label meets, including the Kip Keino Classic and the Sirikwa Classic Cross Country Championships.

Kenya’s case is bolstered by its track results. The country holds 72 World Championship gold medals and 38 Olympic titles, along with seventeen current world records across men’s and women’s events, including both marathon disciplines.

At last year’s World Championships in Tokyo, Kenya finished second in the overall medal table, claiming seven golds among eleven podium finishes.
If successful, Nairobi’s bid would mark a historic first for the continent, bringing the World Athletics Championships to Africa for the first time and cementing Kenya’s status as one of the sport’s true powerhouses, on and off the track.

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