In 2026, the world’s best athletes will once again go head to head in 15 cities across four different continents as the Wanda Diamond League enters its 17th season as athletics’ premier one-day series.
After 16 world records in the past three seasons, this year promises to be another vintage season as a new generation of athletes battle to join the likes of Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Noah Lyles and Faith Kipyegon on the star-studded roll call of Diamond League champions.
The 2026 calendar can be viewed in full here, but here are some key dates for the season ahead.
May 8 – Season launch in Doha
After a couple of years in Xiamen, the season launch will return to its traditional location in Doha this year, with the Jetour Doha Meeting kicking off the Road to the Final on May 8.
The iconic meeting in the Qatari capital always delivers high drama, most recently in last year’s men’s javelin competition, when both India’s Neeraj Chopra and Germany’s Julian Weber cleared the 90-metre mark.
Doha also boasts one of the most raucous atmospheres on the Diamond League circuit, as fans from the diasporas of Kenya, Ethiopia, India and elsewhere get fully behind their track and field heroes on the stands of the Qatar Sports Club.
May 31 – Touchdown in Africa
From Faith Kipyegon’s world records to Letsile Tebogo’s sublime sprinting, the Diamond League has always showcased the very best of African sporting talent.
At the end of May, the series returns to the African continent for the ninth time as the world’s best once again descend on the Meeting International Mohammed VI in the Moroccan capital of Rabat.
As ever, local eyes will be fixed on the headline men’s 3000m steeplechase, which has seen a home win for Soufiane El Bakkali in each of the last four seasons.
June 4 – European starting gun
After meetings in the Middle East, East Asia and Africa in the opening weeks of the season, the Road to the Final heads to Europe for the first time with the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Rome on June 4.
The meeting at the historic Stadio Olimpico will kickstart a run of four European meetings, with Oslo, Stockholm and Paris all also taking place in June.
Italian star Nadia Battocletti has already been confirmed for the Golden Gala this year and will be hoping to create more great memories at the Olimpico, having won European Championship gold there in 2024 before breaking the Italian 5000m record at last year’s Diamond League meeting.
July 4 – American holiday
The Road to the Final hits its fourth continent with the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, and what better day to touch down in the USA than July 4?
The national holiday will no doubt add to the party atmosphere in the stands at Hayward Field, but it will be business as usual on the track as the world’s best lock horns in one of the sport’s most iconic arenas.
Eugene never disappoints, delivering five world records in the past three seasons alone.
August 21 – Into the home straight
After a four-week mid-season break, the Road to the Final heads into the home straight at Athletissima Lausanne on August 21.
This is the business end of the season, where athletes have their last opportunities to win points and qualify for the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels.
And the action comes thick and fast, with Lausanne taking place just two days before Silesia and barely a week before the last series meeting in Zurich on August 27.
September 4-5 – WDL Final in Brussels
This is the big one. On September 4-5, those who have earned the right to do so will assemble in Brussels for the two-day Wanda Diamond League Final at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme.
All 32 Diamond League champions will be crowned in the Belgian capital, with a total prize money pool of 2.24 million USD on offer.
This year’s series champions get the extra bonus of automatic qualification for the World Athletics Ultimate Championships, as well as getting their hands on the iconic Diamond Trophy.
Will we see a record seventh title for US sprinter Noah Lyles? A sixth successive trophy for Mondo Duplantis and Femke Bol? Or will there be fresh faces on the champions’ podium in 2026?
