The host selection process for the 2028 edition of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship is now open.
The launch of this process follows news last week about the inaugural edition, taking place in Budapest on 11-13 September 2026, announcing the visual identity and brand strategy for the groundbreaking championship, and confirming world pole vault record-holder Mondo Duplantis as the inaugural Ultimate Star. Budapest 2026 will be the next major global flagship outdoor track and field championship in the calendar after the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.
The Ultimate Championship has been developed to ensure every athletics season culminates with a major global championship with real meaning for the athletes, fans, media and broadcasters. Proudly representing their countries, only the world’s very best athletes win the right to compete head-to-head to decide who is truly the best on the planet and the Ultimate Champion.
Designed with its own distinctive brand and style, the championship aims to excite, engage and entertain existing and new audiences. Featuring a compact schedule of three sessions held over three days, each session will include straight finals in jumps and throws, and semifinals and finals in track events, to ensure the ultimate fan experience.
In September 2028, after the LA28 Olympic Games, the world’s attention will be drawn once again to the very best of the best battling for their share of the Ultimate Championship’s US$10 million prize pot – the largest in track and field – as the perfect crescendo to close out the 2028 athletics season.
The pre-qualification form submission deadline for the 2028 Ultimate Championship is 1 October 2025, with a targeted dialogue phase to follow. The bid pre-qualification form is available via the World Athletics Library.
For further information about this hosting opportunity, contact World Athletics Head of Bidding Mark Hurst at bidding@worldathletics.org.
World Athletics
