Birmingham Diamond League: Preview, schedule and stars to watch 

The Diamond League season is in full swing after an exciting opener in Doha. Now the action moves to Birmingham as more of the world's best athletes take centre stage in England.

Perhaps the biggest draw is Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah, who will be competing in the women's 100m. The Olympic 100m and 200m champion from Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016 will be aiming for a strong performance in the second Diamond League of the season.

But Thompson-Herah isn't the only big name aiming for gold this Saturday, with Andre De Grasse, Katie Nageotte, Malaika Mihambo and Daniel Stahl all arriving in Britain after successful Olympic Games**. Great Britain also have a strong lineup for this home meet, with Dina Asher-Smith, Keely Hodgkinson, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Laura Muir** and Holly Bradshaw all ready to wow the crowds.

Here's everything you need to know about the Diamond League in Birmingham.

When and where is the Birmingham Diamond League?

All the action takes place at the newly-renovated 12,700 seater Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Saturday 21 May. Alexander Stadium will also be the main venue for this year's Commonwealth Games, which take place between 28 July and 8 August 2022.

In the women's category of the Birmingham Diamond League, you can look forward to enjoying the 100m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 400m hurdles, pole vault, long jump and discus, while the men will compete the 100m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 110m hurdles, high jump and discus.

Stars to watch at the Birmingham Diamond League

If you're looking for a star in the world of athletics, they don't come much bigger than Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah. The 29-year-old showed her class at last year's Olympics by winning gold in the 100m and 200m - the second Olympics in a row in which she achieved the feat.

Perhaps the only accolade missing from her resume is a world record - something she has already stated she thinks may be possible this year. Could the 10.49 seconds mark set by Florence Griffith-Joyner all the way back in 1988 be on the line in Birmingham?

Last August in a track and field meet in Oregon, Thompson-Herah set her own best time of 10.54, making her the second-fastest woman in history. With the Worlds also taking place in Oregon, perhaps this is the year she steps up to become the fastest woman in history.

Providing a challenge to Thompson-Herah in Birmingham will be Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith who comes to the meet off the back of a third-place finish in the 200m in Doha. Jamaica's Shericka Jackson, who won bronze in the Tokyo 2020 100m final, and the USA's Gabby Thomas will also be in the hunt for gold.

The men's 100m looks to be equally exciting, with Canada's Olympic 200m champion and 100m bronze medallist Andre De Grasse facing off against the USA's Trayvon Bromell. In terms of personal best 100m times, Bromell is the faster of the two having set 9.76 compared to De Grasse's 9.89. However, the fastest man in the field on paper is Jamaican legend Yohan Blake, who at 32-years-old will be looking to recapture some of the form that saw him run 9.69 seconds in the days when he used to line up against all-time great Usain Bolt.

The women's long jump sees Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo installed as an early favourite, however much of the crowd's attention will be on Brit Katarina Johnson-Thompson. The world heptathlon champion was a late entry into the long jump field and it will be interesting to see how she performs after injury woes saw her pull out of last year's Olympics.

The men's 110m hurdles also has the potential to be a cracking race, with Jamaica's surprise Olympic champion Hansle Parchment looking to show early season form as he lines up against another British favourite, Andrew Pozzi.

The middle distance races have a slew of British talent on display. Olympic women's 800m silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson, Olympic women's 1500m silver medallist Laura Muir and Olympic men's 1500m bronze medallist Josh Kerr will all be competing as they aim for more glory on home soil.

In what is undoubtedly a stacked field, other names to look out for in Birmingham include Sweden's Tokyo 2020 men's discus gold medallist Daniel Stahl, the USA's reigning Olympic women's pole vault gold medallist Katie Nageotte and Rio 2016 400m hurdles champ Dalilah Muhammad, and Italy's reigning Olympic men's high jump champion Gianmarco Tamberi.

One thing's for sure, you won't want to miss a moment's action at Saturday's Diamond League meet in Birmingham.

Schedule for the Birmingham Diamond League

13:21: women's discus

13:24: men's high jump

13:47: women's pole vault

14:04: women's 400m hurdles

14:17: women's 1500m

14:25: women's long jump

14:29: men's 100m

14:37: men's 800m

14:46: women's 100m

14:53: men's discus

14:55: men's 400m

15:03: women's 5000m

15:28: men's 1500m

15:41: men's 110m hurdles

15:51: women's 800m