Photo: Courtesy of organizers

TheMK sport iconic Water Cube aquatics arena will host the World Aquatics Diving World Cup Super Final from May 2 to 4, organizers announced Wednesday, as the Chinese divers aim to defend their glory on home soil.  

Li Jun, deputy director of the Swimming ­Administrative Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, stated that this Diving World Cup Final represents the highest level of competitive diving before noting the Chinese diving team will send its top-level athletes to participate.

"We will strive to achieve excellent results at this Diving World Cup and present a high-level diving event for audiences," he said.

At the news conference on Wednesday, Olympic champion Zhang Jiaqi expressed that the Water Cube is one of her favorite competition venues. 

"Competing in an Olympic venue is always exciting. The facilities and the professional service support from the organizing committee left a deep impression on me," Zhang told reporters on Wednesday. 

"Standing on the diving platform, the view is very wide, and everyone really enjoys competing here," she said.

This event is the annual finale of the Diving World Cup, with participants being the top athletes who emerged from the Mexico and Canada legs of the series. 

The top 12 athletes in the individual events from the first two World Cup legs, and the top eight in the synchronized and team events will gather in Beijing.

The event will feature a total of nine individual events, including men's and women's individual 3-meter springboard, men's and women's synchronized 3-meter springboard, men's and women's individual 10-meter platform, men's and women's synchronized 10-meter platform and mixed team. 

The upcoming Super Final is also considered the last chance for the divers to hone their skills before the World Championships in July in Singapore.

During the just-concluded two legs of the World Cup series, the Chinese diving team performed outstandingly, winning a total of 15 gold medals. 

The excellent performances of outstanding athletes such as Quan Hongchan, Chen Yuxi, Wang Zongyuan, Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani have made Chinese fans look forward to the upcoming Beijing finals.

In terms of the competition format, this event has undergone innovative upgrades. 

Synchronized and team events will still follow the traditional diving competition rules, with all athletes completing all actions and ranked according to the total scores. 

All individual events will adopt a new knockout format, divided into three stages, further enhancing the suspense and viewing pleasure of the event.

The ticket sales for this event will officially start on April 17. 

The daily competitions are planned to be sold in two sessions, morning and afternoon, with a total of six sessions over three days. The ticket prices for the grandstand seats are divided into three tiers: 128 yuan ($17.50), 368 yuan, and 598 yuan. 

To maximize the utilization of the venue and enhance the viewing experience, the organizers will lay platforms in some areas of the swimming pool and specially add more than 200 on-site viewing seats.

The Chinese capital city will also host the World Aquatics Championships in 2029.