.jpg){kind=link}
The World Athletics Championships were first held in 1983, though forerunner events took place in 1976 and 1980. They were initially staged every four years, like the Olympics (and other big global sporting events such as the football World Cup). However, they soon switched to become a biennial competition (taking place every two years).
The next Championships, the 20th, are just around the corner. Taking place in Tokyo, which of course held the delayed 2020 Olympics (in 2021), the event will start on the 13th of September and end on the 21st. Singapore and Nairobi were among the other options to host the jamboree but Tokyo won and will have the honour of welcoming the World Athletics Championships for the second time (after doing so in 1991, whilst Osaka has also hosted, in 2007).
Without wanting to wish our time away, we already know that in 2027 Chinese city Beijing will be the home for the 21st championships. However, what we do not know, yet, is where the event will go two years after that, in 2029. There was some big news in relation to that though, with the UK government announcing on the 19th of July that they would fully support a bid from London to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships.
If successful, it will be one of the biggest athletics competitions to be held in the UK capital since the Olympics in 2012. Yes, it really is 13 years and counting since that magical summer of Mo, Jess and all the other Team GB stars. However, we say “one of the biggest” because London actually hosted this prestigious competition as recently as 2017.
How Many Times Has London Hosted the World Championships?
The UK is planning to bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships.
London last hosted the championships back in 2017.
In an interview with the BBC’s @LauraScott__, UK Athletics CEO Jack Buckner states: “We can’t definitely say it’ll be London but it would be in our mind… pic.twitter.com/fbSMzIEkO9
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) March 4, 2024
Perhaps a little surprisingly, London has only once played host, in 2017. Having said that, it is an event which has been shared around the world relatively evenly. China hosted it in 2015 and will do so again in 2027. But to date, only Germany, Japan and one other nation has held it more than once.
Stuttgart held the fourth World Athletics Championships in 1993, and then in 2009, Berlin did the honours. As noted, Japan was the home of the action in 1991, 2007, and in 2025, Japan will become the only country to have held three championships. However, the first country to become a double host was – respect to those that know this already – Finland. The capital Helsinki held the first official competition in 1983, and then was the host for the 10th championships in 2005.
The US has dominated the medal table to an incredible degree over the years. They have topped the table 15 times, only missing out in 2015 (to Kenya), 2001 (to Russia) and in 1983 and 1987 to East Germany. One might argue that the only time they have been legitimately beaten by a nation that wasn’t powered by illegal drugs was 2015.
Despite that success at the track, though, the United States has hosted just one World Athletics Championships. That was in 2022 in Eugene, the athletics and running centre that was where Nike was founded and that bills itself as “Track Town USA”.
There have been a number of other one-time host nations too, including Hungary, Qatar, South Korea, France and Canada, to name just a few. Perhaps then it is not such a surprise that London, and indeed the whole UK, has only held this event once. That said, despite the competition being held in Asia a few times, it has been quite Euro-centric, which could count against London’s bid for 2029.
What Do We Know About the London Bid?
The bidding process for both 2029 and 2031 began at the end of June and we expect the winners to be announced in September next year, 2026. Rival bids have until the 1st of October this year to announce they are interested, with the 5th of August 2026 the deadline for the full bid submission.
As such, it is early days, although London first spoke about wanting to host 2029 back in April. The announcement on the 19th of July that the bid will be fully backed by the government is a big boost, though. They have also thrown their support behind a bid for the World Para Athletics Championships of the same year.
It has been reported that around £35m of funding will be provided by central government. There should be a further £10 of public money from the London Mayor and the support of Sir Keir Starmer’s government is crucial at a time when there were fears over spending cuts.
London Stadium
At the start of June, over 100 leading UK athletes, including luminaries such as Daley Thompson, Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill and current golden girl Keeley Hodgkinson, wrote to the government. The intention is to use the London Stadium, which hosted the competition last time it came to England, as well as the 2012 Olympics.
As such, it was argued by the athletes that the country would get a lot of bang for their buck. With no new stadium or real infrastructure required, they argued that the country would gain “£400m in national economic impact”. For an outlay of just £45m in public finances, that seemed like a good investment, described by the letter’s authors as a “one-off injection of public funding in 2028”.
‘A Moment of Great National Pride’
Thankfully for those who love the sport of athletics and those with an economic, social or cultural interest in the capital, the government listened. After discussions with UK Athletics and UK Sport, the PM said, “Bringing the World Athletics Championships to the UK would be a moment of great national pride, building on our global reputation for hosting memorable sporting events that showcase the very best talent.”
At this stage, we do not know who else will bid for the championships. However, the London Stadium recently held a sold-out Diamond League meeting, with 60,000 fans watching on. The sport’s global governing body, World Athletics, needs a host that can provide great facilities, a top atmosphere and virtually guarantee a sellout for every session.
That puts London in a really strong position. Moreover, whilst the overall history of the championships has seen Europe host on many occasions, by the time 2029 arrives, the continent will have only held two of the last seven. Fingers crossed!