The Championships due to be held in China in 2020 were postponed because of the COVID pandemic, as were the attempted running of the meetings in both 2021 and 2023.
The events held have been composed of a regular disciplines, with the main alterations coming in the earlier years.
Racewalking events were dropped after 1993, and a 1600 m medley relay was tried but was discontinued were due to alleged poor interest.
This same year, a men's heptathlon and women's pentathlon were successfully introduced as non-championship events, and have remained on the program since.
In 1997 the women's pole vault entered the fray, two years before it made an appearance at the event's outdoor counterpart.