The Opening Ceremony of the Championships is due to take place on April 30 and will feature the sister of football star Cristiano Ronaldo, with Katia Aveiro set to sing the Portuguese national anthem.

Competition will begin the following day, with local star Emanuel Goncalves featuring in the opening event of the Championships, the men’s 400 metre freestyle S10.

Brazilian multiple world and Paralympic champion Andre Brasil is expected to be one of the favourites for the event, but could to face competition from the defending European champion Dmitry Bartasinskiy of Russia.

The day will also see the first of several clashes between Britain’s four-time European champion Andrew Mullen and Brazil’s Daniel Dias.

Dias, who is expected to star for the host nation at the Rio 2016 Paralympics later this year, dominated at last year’s World Championships, where he earned seven gold medals.

Ukraine’s Yevheniy Bohodayko will seek to defend seven titles throughout the week-long Championships, which will draw to an end on May 7.

In the women’s S5 class, Spain’s Teresa Perales will renew her rivalry with Norway’s Sarah Louise Rung.

Both swimmers claimed four titles at the 2014 edition of the Championships, which were held in Eindhoven.

A total of 453 athletes from 52 countries are expected to compete over the seven days of competition at the Complexo Olimpico de Piscinas da Penteada in Madeira.

Swimmers from Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Indonesia, Canada, Malaysia and Singapore will be among those competing, with the event open to non-European entries.

The Championships are due to be broadcast live and in full on the event’s official website www.Funchal2016.com.

It will feature an English commentary team, as part of an agreement between IPC Swimming and British free-to-air television station Channel 4.

Morning sessions have been scheduled to begin at 9am WET, while evening sessions will begin at 5pm.

The full competition schedule can be viewed here.