London has lost out on hosting rights for the 2029 World Athletics Championships, with the event instead to be held in Africa for the first time.
Nairobi, Kenya submitted the winning bid, beating other candidate cities Rome, London and Munich for the rights to host athletics’ biggest event outside the Olympic Games.
The hosts for the next two editions were announced in a World Athletics conference in Budapest, which has just hosted the inaugural Ultimate Championships, on Tuesday.
World Athletics president Seb Coe said “the interest in hosting our world championships has frankly never been higher” and praised “the quality, commitment and ambition demonstrated by all four… outstanding bids”.
He said: “Taking our championships to Africa for the first time will be historic. Nairobi has presented a compelling and an emotional bid.
“This is a fast-growing, dynamic, modern metropolis that serves as the economic, cultural, and political hub of East Africa.
“Kenya is one of the great athletics nations. The sport is woven into the fabric of the country, and athletes such as world gold medallists Faith Kipyegon, Vivian Cheruiyot, Eliud Kipchoge, Hellen Obiri and David Rudisha, as well as two-time Olympic champion Kip Keino, multiple world cross-country champion Paul Tergat and multiple world half marathon champion Tegla Loroupe, have shaped the history of our sport.
“It was important that the World Athletics Championships should come to Africa when we had the right host, the right bid and the right circumstances. Nairobi has demonstrated emphatically that this is their moment to supercharge our sport, leaving a compelling legacy that inspires a continent.”
Munich was awarded host status for the 2031 edition of the biennial championships, which takes place in September at the end of the athletics season.
Coe said: “Germany has proved time and again that it is an outstanding and dependable host for major athletics events. Berlin 2009 remains one of the memorable editions of the World Championships, and we have since seen tremendous support for the sport at the European Championships in Berlin and Munich.”
However, the decision is a major blow to London, which had been seen as a frontrunner in the race. The UK government threw its weight behind the 2029 bid but there were challenges even getting it off the ground in the form of needing to smooth relations with Championship football club West Ham, which had earlier argued it had priority to the stadium during the football season.
A deal was reached involving the London mayor’s office, Athletics Ventures – a joint venture of UK bodies responsible for organising major events including the London Diamond League – and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which satisfied West Ham and meant the bid could go ahead. It was finally submitted last month.
But the public back-and-forth with the club was unlikely to inspire confidence in World Athletics’ council choosing the next host, while sparse crowds at the European Championships in Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium this summer – despite being in a different city and in different circumstances – may also have damaged its standing.
Asked whether the West Ham saga played a role in London’s failure, Coe refused to comment, saying: “I’m not going to maintain a running commentary today on the judgement and the basis of those judgements.”
London Stadium, which was constructed for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, has not hosted an athletics championships since a highly successful 2017 edition, when Mo Farah won 10,000m gold and 5,000m silver and Britain took a surprise victory in the men’s 4x100m relay. That event broke an eight-year record for ticket sales at a world championships, with more than 660,000 sold.
While the stadium has not hosted another major championships since 2017 it has welcomed the annual London Diamond League. A sellout crowd of 60,000 watched Scot Josh Kerr break the mile world record at this July’s meet.
However that success was not enough to persuade World Athletics to choose the capital from the four candidates. London had specifically bid for the 2029 edition, while both Nairobi and Munich had indicated their willingness to host either in 2029 and 2031.
Beijing will host the next edition of the world championships, in 2027.
