Beijing to Host 2027 World Athletics Championships

The World Athletics Council has selected Beijing to host the 2027 World Athletics Championships, the first time the event has been in the Chinese capital since 2015.

“With a population of more than 1.4 billion, China is one of the biggest sports markets in the world,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “This poses a massive opportunity to grow our sport and fan base in one of the biggest commercial markets in the world. With the announcement of China as our next host, our last four World Athletics Championships have now been awarded to the world’s four largest economies; the USA (Oregon), the EU (Budapest), Japan (Tokyo) and China (Beijing).”

The 2027 World Athletics Championships will welcome the sport’s stars to Beijing almost two decades on from the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. China will also host next year’s World Athletics Indoor Championships, in Nanjing. The last edition of the World Athletics Championships was held in Budapest in August, while Tokyo will host the 2025 event.

“The CAA will work together with the Beijing organizing committee to make every effort to prepare for the championships, ensure that the championships will be held to the highest quality standard, and strive to present a wonderful World Athletics Championships to make more contributions to the development of athletics across the world,” said Wang Nan, World Athletics council member and vice president of the Chinese Athletics Association.

“Sports has given life and vitality to this ancient capital,” said Zhao Wen, director of the Beijing Sports Bureau. “We are very much looking forward to the World Athletics Family returning to Beijing to feel and experience the charm of the ancient and modern capital. With the guidance and assistance of World Athletics, Beijing will do its best to prepare for the championships and present the world with an extraordinary athletics event.”

The announcement comes on the heels of the Italian track federation announcing earlier in the day that it withdrew its candidacy to stage the 2027 worlds in Rome after the government refused to guarantee the $92 million needed to host the event.

World Athletics made the announcement during its 234th World Athletics Council Meeting in Glasgow ahead of the World Athletics Indoor Championships, which take place March 1–3. The Council Meeting also included the restructure of the summer track and field season. Each season from 2025 onward will end with the World Athletics Championships as a clear season finale event in mid-September and allowing for a more consistent global calendar to be established.