NAIROBI World athletics chiefs awarded the 2005 world championships to Helsinki on Sunday.

International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Lamine Diack announced the venue to a packed hall at the end of a two-day IAAF council meeting in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, reported Reuters.

"The winner is Helsinki," Diack, a Senegalese, said.

The Finnish capital beat five other European cities for the right to host the event, only third to the Olympic Games and the soccer World Cup in terms of popularity and television ratings.