2029 World Athletics Championships: 5 Key Factors Why Nairobi Beat Munich, London and Rome

Nairobi is in celebration mode after World Athletics handed the Kenyan capital the hosting rights for the 2029 World Athletics Championships.

World Athletics revealed on Tuesday that Nairobi’s bid for the 2029 edition was successful, beating London, Rome and Munich, although the German city was handed the 2031 World Championships’ hosting rights.

It is a historic feat not just for Kenya but for Africa as it will be the first time the continent hosts the World Championships and World Athletics has lifted the lid on the reasons that swayed the vote in favour of Nairobi.

The global athletics governing body praised Nairobi for staging successful athletics events in the past, including the World U18 and U20 Championships in 2017 and 2021 respectively, which made it difficult to overlook Kenya.

“The 2017 World U18 Championships demonstrated the extraordinary appetite for athletics in Kenya, with huge crowds packing the Kasarani Stadium throughout the competition,” World Athletics stated.

“Nairobi has since established the Kip Keino Classic as one of Africa’s leading one-day meetings, with the event forming part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold since the tour was launched in 2020,” the statement further stated.

Further, World Athletics is impressed by the renovation works at Kasarani Stadium which will be the host venue for the 2029 World Championships.

Kasarani is currently being spruced up as Kenya prepares to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and with the 2029 Worlds two years away, they feel the facility will be in top condition to stage the Championship.

According to World Athletics, a recent fan research returned startling findings that made it impossible to look beyond Nairobi.

“Some 68% of Kenyan people surveyed rated their interest in athletics as high, compared with a global average of 39%, making Kenya the most athletics-interested market surveyed,” stated World Athletics.

“Kenya has the highest net promoter score of any market, and athletics is the country’s second-most-followed sport, behind only football. Kenya is the fourth-highest country in terms of followers of World Athletics social media channels.”

There is no denying that Kenyans are known over the world for their prowess in athletics more than anything else and with that pedigree, it was hard to ignore Nairobi once its bid ticked the other key boxes.

“Kenya is the second-most-successful nation in World Athletics Championships history and finished second on the medal table at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, winning seven gold medals and 11 medals in total,” World Athletics said of Kenya’s standing.

Besides, being home to global athletics legends like Eliud Kipchoge, Faith Kipyegon, David Rudisha, Paul Tergat, Tegla Loroupe and Sabastian Sawe, the first man to run an official marathon under two hours, further swung the pendulum in Kenya’s favour.

According to World Athletics, “Nairobi presented a compelling and emotional bid” and part of that included what makes the city unique.

Having a national park at the heart of the city became an attraction, having an array of world class hotels which guarantees top-notch accommodation to athletes, officials, and fans, improved transport network, security and the financial commitments from the Kenyan government were enough to convince the global athletics body that they will not be making a mistake to award Nairobi the 2029 World Championships hosting rights.