Britain’s divers will get an added boost towards their Tokyo 2020 Olympic dream – hosting the prestigious Diving World Series on home soil next year.
The competition is exclusive to the World’s best competitors, with dozens of World, Olympic and European champions guaranteed to be taking part across all four legs, and in particular the finale event which will be held at the London Aquatics Centre from the 17th to 19th of May 2019.
British Swimming has worked closely with the Mayor of London’s Office and UK Sport to secure the event with FINA, which is a key part of the Tokyo 2020 medal development programme.
Jack Buckner, chief executive of British Swimming said “We are delighted to welcome the Diving World Series back to the UK and the London Aquatics Centre.
“This is the most prestigious series in the diving world and will be a great opportunity for our outstanding divers to showcase their talents against the best in the world.
“Having a home competition ensures our athletes the chance to perform in front of a home crowd and test their skills against those they will face in the Olympics without having to travel and acclimatise to a different part of the globe.”
The 2019 legs will take place in Japan, China, Canada and Russia, before closing in London.
Inaugurated in 2007, the Diving World Series was last held in London in 2015 with British divers winning one gold, two silvers, three bronzes during their home event. This was good enough for a second place finish in the medal table behind China.
Jack Laugher and Chris Mears won a silver medal at this event, then went on to become Britain’s first Olympic gold medalists just over a year later. Tom Daley also won a gold at the event hosted by his training centre.
Tom Daley said: “The London Aquatics centre is such a great venue, and I feel honoured not only to have competed at an Olympics here, but also have it as my training base.
“I know having the Diving World Series in London will be great for those of us lucky enough to compete, but also for fans of sport generally and the entire city.”
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m delighted to welcome this fantastic event back to London in 2019. I know how much Londoners and visitors have enjoyed seeing some of the world’s top divers compete here in recent years and I’m sure this will be another great competition at this world-class venue.”
Esther Britten, Head of Major Events at UK Sport added: “It is brilliant to see this event returning to the UK for the eighth time, and to be taking place at the Aquatics Centre, one of London 2012’s legacy venues.
“It will be vital for the British public to be part of this event, cheering on our wealth of home grown diving talent, as athletes, including Olympic medalists, prepare for the Olympic Games in 2020.”
In 2017 the World Series saw 88 divers compete from 16 nations with millions tuning in to watch either online or via the 14 international broadcasters covering each leg.
Information about tickets will be released shortly via the British Swimming website – make sure you don’t miss out on updates by signing up to our newsletter here.
Commercial and sponsorship packages are also available for the event. For details email britishevents@swimming.org