London's bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships has been unsuccessful after the World Athletics Council decided to award the event to Nairobi.
It's a significant milestone for Kenya and for the continent as a whole, with the Kenyan capital to become the first African city to host the World Championships.
The East African country had initially attempted to stage the 2025 World Championships, only for Tokyo to secure hosting duties, with Kenya Athletics then turning their attention to 2029.
The World Athletics Council have also confirmed that Munich will host the 2031 World Athletics Championships.
Kenya boasts a remarkably decorated history in athletics, especially middle- and long-distance running, and the country has achieved a total of 72 World Championship and 38 Olympic gold medals.
17 current world records are held by Kenyans across track and road events, including both men's and women's marathons, with Sabastian Sawe achieving the men's world record at the 2026 London Marathon in April this year with a 1:59:30.
Kenya finished second in the medal table behind the United States at the 2025 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.
“The quality, ambition and commitment demonstrated by all four candidates underlines the strength and global appeal of the World Athletics Championships.
“With this Council 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.
“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.”
London's proposal featured the London Stadium as the host venue, which was built for the 2012 Olympics and has become a staple of the Diamond League calendar.
West Ham United, who play their home games at the London Stadium, eventually offered their support for the bid, despite an ongoing battle over permission to use the venue.
On the decision to select Nairobi, Coe added: “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.”
