London Olympic gold medalist and World Record holder Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa will be part of the star studded field this year at the Fina/Arena Swimming World Cup in Dubai.

The meet will take place at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Sports Complex on October 2-3, the first of the eight-leg World Cup series, which then moves on to Doha, Stockholm, Moscow, Berlin, Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore.

World Record holder Therese Alshammar of Sweden also guarantees a highly competitive meet.

“It is a great honour to be hosting this fantastic event again in Dubai,” said Dr Ahmad Saad Al Sharif, General Secretary of Dubai Sports Council and Chairman of the Local Organising Committee.

The Dubai competition is contested in a 25m pool and sees both men and women vying for prize money in each of the 36 events.

“We will all be cheering on our own UAE swimmers as they take on the world,” said Ahmed Al Falasi, President of the UAE Swimming Federation.

The FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup will begin at 9am on Tuesday October 2 with heats in the morning, and finals being contested at 6pm, with the same schedule on Wednesday October 3.

Tickets to the event will be available at the door, at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Sports Complex, which is located on the Dubai Bypass Road (E611).

The event is being organised by the Dubai sports Council and the UAE Swimming Federation, and is part of a long term plan to promote and develop swimming in the region.