After Tokyo in 2025 and Beijing in 2027, the World Athletics Championships could return to Europe in 2029. Four bids have been submitted: Nairobi (Kenya), Munich (Germany), Rome (Italy), and London (United Kingdom). This close contest involves three Olympic cities and one of the most powerful African nations in world athletics. While awaiting World Athletics' decision on September 20, here's an overview of the strengths of the different candidates.

Europe in strength

Rome and London have a head start, as they are already well-established on the athletics map. London already hosted the World Championships in 2017. Its Olympic Stadium is still fresh from the 2012 Games and hosts a Diamond League meeting every year. One question mark remained in recent months: the availability of the London Stadium, currently home to West Ham United. However, an agreement has been reached, and the Hammers have received guarantees regarding their schedule should the London bid be selected. Bidding to host the World Athletics Championships at London Stadium has always been central to plans relating to the Olympic legacy “,” emphasizes Jack Buckner, executive director of UK Athletics. The bid also includes mass participation events for all ages in the country "in order to encourage physical activity."

Rome also has a history of hosting the World Championships, albeit a more distant one, in 1987. The Stadio Olimpico, like its London counterpart, is a fixture on the Diamond League calendar every year. It also hosted the European Championships in June 2024, a reminder of the Italians' ability to mobilize for a major event. Germany has already hosted two World Championships, but never in Munich (1993 in Stuttgart, 2009 in Berlin). However, the Bavarian capital hosted the 2022 European Championships and is in a three-way competition with Berlin and the Rhine-Ruhr region to bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, 2040, or 2044. It has a hunger for sport, and it knows how to deliver.

There remains Nairobi, whose pedigree isn't exactly comparable to that of its rivals. The Kenyan capital did, however, host the 2017 World Youth Athletics Championships and the 2021 U20 World Championships, with the Nyayo National Stadium as the epicenter of the event. The stadium can hold 30.000 people and has recently undergone renovations. The prospect of bringing the World Championships to African soil for the first time is certainly exciting for World Athletics. The IOC took the plunge by awarding the Youth Olympic Games to Senegal, and the UCI entrusted Rwanda with the last UCI Road World Championships. An additional argument in its favor is the strength of Kenyan athletics, second in the medal table for the 2025 World Championships with eleven medals, including seven golds. A nation of champions. World Athletics will award the 2029 and 2031 World Championships at the same time, thus giving all candidates two chances.