12 years after the 2015 World Athletics Championships and almost two decades after the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing will once again host a major international sporting event. 

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the choice of Beijing was partly commercial, noting that the country's broadcast consumption of the elite Diamond League circuit in 2023 was the highest at 368.9 million. 

"With a population of more than 1.4 billion, China is one of the largest sports markets in the world. This represents a huge opportunity to grow our sport and our fan base in one of the biggest commercial markets in the world," said Coe.

"With the announcement of Beijing as the next host, our last four World Athletics Championships have now been awarded to the four largest economies in the world: the USA (Eugene), the European Union (Budapest), Japan (Tokyo) and China (Beijing)." 

China will host another World Indoor Championships in 2025, to be held in Nanjing. The event was originally scheduled for 2020, but was postponed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being rescheduled for next year. 

The last edition of the World Athletics Championships was held in Budapest in August. The next edition will be held in Tokyo in 2025, followed by Beijing in 2027.

Wang Nan, World Athletics Council Member and Vice President of the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA), said: "Thank you to World Athletics for the recognition and trust in China and Beijing."

"The CAA, together with the Beijing Organising Committee, will work to make every effort to prepare for the championships, ensure that the championships will be held to the highest quality standards, and strive to present a wonderful World Athletics Championships to further contribute to the development of athletics around the world," he added.

Zhao Wen, Director of the Beijing Sports Bureau, stressed: "We thank World Athletics for its confidence and support of Beijing. After the 15th World Athletics Championships in 2015, Beijing is honoured to host the 21st World Athletics Championships, the world's highest-level athletics event, in 2027."

"Beijing is the first city in the world to host both the Summer and the Winter Olympic Games. We look 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 support of World Athletics, Beijing will do its best to deliver an exceptional athletics event to the world," he concluded.

Competition updates

The World Athletics Council also agreed to restructure the international calendar so that, from 2025, the season will end with the World Championships, "which will mean that there will be a clear highlight during a defined window in mid-September". 

The Council has also approved the use of all nine lanes (where available) for the semi-finals and finals of the lane events (sprints and all races up to and including 800m) at the World Athletics Championships. This will be included in the Competition Rules from 2025.