The landmark decision was reached during the 242nd World Athletics Council meeting in Budapest, Hungary, where Nairobi emerged victorious ahead of compelling bids from Munich, Rome and London.
It marks the first time in history that the World Athletics Championships will be staged on African soil.
Coe revealed the race to host both the 2029 and 2031 editions attracted exceptional interest, making the Council’s decision one of its most competitive in recent years.
‘Nairobi presented a compelling bid’
“We were fortunate to have four outstanding bids for 2029 and 2031, and this was not an easy decision for the Council,” said Coe.
“The quality, ambition and commitment demonstrated by all four candidates underline 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.”
Coe praised both winning cities, saying they each presented powerful cases to host the sport’s premier event.
“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.”
The 2029 championships will build on Kenya’s growing reputation as a proven host of major World Athletics competitions.
Kenya has already demonstrated its capability to stage world-class athletics competitions, having hosted the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, the 2017 World Athletics Under-18 Championships in Nairobi and the 2021 World Athletics Under-20 Championships, also in Nairobi.
Nairobi has established particularly strong credentials as a host city. Having previously bid to host the 2025 championships, awarded to Tokyo, Nairobi returned with an even stronger proposition for 2029, drawing on almost a decade of experience in staging major international athletics events.
The 2017 World U18 Championships demonstrated the extraordinary appetite for athletics in Kenya, with huge crowds packing the Kasarani Stadium throughout the competition.
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.
"Nairobi presented a compelling and emotional bid, and taking the World Athletics Championships to Africa for the first time will be historic,” said Coe.
“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.”
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.
The World Championships began in 1976 after the International Olympic Committee dropped the men’s 50 km walk from the Olympic programme for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, despite its consistent presence at the games since 1932.
