There are 130 swimmers from 32 nations in the United Arab Emirates, ready to compete at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Sports Complex, which hosted the 2010 Swimming World Championships.

Chad le Clos, who won a gold medal in the 200 metres butterfly at the London 2012 Olympics, memorably beating the United States' Michael Phelps – the most successful Olympian of all time – will be the man to watch.

The South African is also a double Commonwealth Games champion and was the overall winner of last year's Swimming World Cup.

Chad le Clos poses on the podium during the medal ceremony for the men's 200m butterfly at London 2012

He will face a tough challenge from compatriot Cameron van der Burgh, who won the World Series in 2008 and 2009.

In the women's competition, Sweden's Therese Alshammar, a three-times Olympic medallist, is aiming for her third World Cup title in a row.

Following Dubai the series will go to Doha, Stockholm, Moscow, Berlin, Beijing, Tokyo and conclude in Singapore on November 10-11.

This year's event will see the introduction of the 4x50m medley and 4x50m freestyle relays to the programme and there is $1.2 million (£740,000/€930,000) on offer in prize money to the best swimmer in the series.

The action is being screened live on FINAtv, as well as being available on iPhone and iPad.

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