The XVII World Athletics Championship was held in Doha ( Qatar ) between September 27 and October 6 , 2019 under the organization of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the Qatar Athletics Federation.

The competitions were held at the Jalifa International Stadium in the city of Qatar. Testing marathon and march were run along the promenade of Doha .

It is the first time that a country in the Middle East organized an Athletics World Cup. Due to its warm weather, the competitions were played in the afternoon, while marathon and athletic running tests took place at midnight ( UTC +3). 3 In this edition the 4 × 400 m mixed relay race was played for the first time.

Three cities applied for the event:

• Barcelona ( Spain )
• Doha ( Qatar )
• Eugene ( United States )

The 18 of November of 2014 , the IAAF announced at the meeting of its Board the chosen venue, the city of Doha . Election that has caused international criticism of both managers, athletes and the media, among which the possibility that the event has been purchased with extra incentives is mentioned, 6 that the high desert temperatures damage the health of the athletes, 7 that the realization of the event outside the boreal summer causes problems in the organization of the calendar of the athletes or the little athletic tradition of the Arab country.

The Khalifa International Stadium was the venue for the world athletics championship. It has a capacity for 40,000 spectators and has a cooling system to counteract the high temperatures that could reach 38º C. This system consists of more than 3,000 “cold cannons” located around the enclosure that reduce the temperature between 24º C and 26º C, which will facilitate the development of the tests since the wind direction will be controlled.