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China's capital Beijing has been selected to host the 2027 World Athletics Championships.

The decision by the World Athletics Council was made at the 234th World Athletics Council Meeting, held in the Scottish city of Glasgow.

The meeting was held ahead of the World Athletics Indoor Championships (March 1-3), according to a Wednesday press release by World Athletics.

The 2027 World Athletics Championships will welcome the sport’s biggest stars back to Beijing, 12 years on from the Chinese capital’s successful staging of athletics’ flagship event and almost two decades on from the Beijing Olympic 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.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe congratulated Beijing on its successful bid.

“With a population of more than 1.4 billion, China is one of the biggest sports markets in the world. It was the top performer for Wanda Diamond League broadcast consumption in 2023 with a cumulative audience of 368.9 million," he is quoted as saying.

"This poses a massive opportunity to grow our sport and fan base in one of the biggest commercial markets in the world."

Wang Nan is a World Athletics Council member and vice-president of the Chinese Athletics Association.

“Thank you to World Athletics for the recognition and trust in China and Beijing," he said.

Nan said the Chinese Athletics Association will work together with the Beijing organising 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".

Zhao Wen, the director of the Beijing Sports Bureau, thanked World Athletics for the "trust 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," he said.

“Following the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Beijing has become the first city in the world to have held both summer and winter Olympics. 

"Sports has given life and vitality to this ancient capital. 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," said Wen.