The Lee Valley course, the first brand new London 2012 venue to be completed when it was unveiled by the Princess Royal last December, held off a rival bid from Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the French Alps following presentations in front of the ICF Board of Directors at a meeting in Paris in order to stage the prestigious event.

The winning bid means that London has won the right to stage its first major sporting event at an Olympic venue after the 2012 Games following failed bids to host the 2015 World Athletics Championships and 2014 Hockey World Cup last year.

ICF vice-president Richard Fox, one of the 27 voting Board Members at the meeting in Paris who made the decision to award the event to London, said: "Selection had to be based on the quality of the venue, the potential of the Organising Committee and the interest of the sport.

"It was certainly very difficult to choose but a choice had to be made and London was a worthy winner."

The Lee Valley White Water Centre was built at a cost of £31 million ($51 million)and will open to elite athletes, as well as the general public, for rafting and canoeing next month, over a year ahead of the Olympic Games.

Sport and Olympics minister Hugh Robertson, said: "I look forward to welcoming the canoeing world to the UK in 2015.

"This is the first major sporting event confirmed for an Olympic venue after the Games and will be part of the legacy from London 2012."

Paul Owen, chief executive of the British Canoe Union (BCU), added: "Certainly I am delighted we won, it is a fantastic success for the city of London.

"We are a bit sad for our French friends who delivered an equally strong bid, but now I look forward to delivering on the promise I made to the ICF, which was to deliver a very high quality competition."

The meeting in Paris saw the ICF decide the host cities of 13 ICF Championship events from 2013 until 2015.

In 2013, Rio de Janeiro - the host of the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics - will host the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with Solkan, Slovenia, hosting the ICF Wildwater Canoeing Sprint World Championships and Ukraine staging the ICF Dragon Boat Club Crew World Championships.

In 2014, Szeged, Hungary, will host the ICF junior and under-23 Canoe Sprint World Championships, Deep Creek in Maryland, United States, the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, in Sydney the ICF junior and under-23 Canoe Slalom World Championships, Brazil the ICF junior and under-23 Canoe Slalom World Championships, Thury-Harcourt, France the ICF Canoe Polo World Championships and Poznan, Poland, the ICF Dragon Boat National World Championships.

Finally the ICF decided that 2015 will see Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal, host the ICF junior and under-23 Canoe Slalom World Championships, Milan the 2015 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Gyor, Hungary the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships and of course Britain host the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships at Lee Valley.

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