London has lost its bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, with the event instead awarded to Nairobi, Kenya. This decision marks the first time an African city will host the global showpiece.
The announcement was made during the 242nd World Athletics Council meeting in Budapest. London bid organisers expressed being “deeply disappointed” by the outcome. Munich, another city that bid for 2029, was awarded the subsequent 2031 edition of the championships.
Jack Buckner, chief of UK Athletics and co-founder of bid organisers Athletics Ventures, stated, “We are deeply disappointed that the 2029 World Athletics Championships will not be held in London. We believed we had an outstanding bid which would genuinely take the sport to new levels.”
Lord Coe, when asked if factors such as an agreement with West Ham for the London Stadium or concerns over empty seats at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham had affected London's bid, declined to provide a running commentary on the basis of the judgements.