The new Diamond League athletics series will be featuring 14 meets in 2010, replacing the Europe-based Golden league with a global series.

The ruling body IAAF unveiled the 2010 calendar on Tuesday, saying that the Diamond League kicks off on May 14 in Doha, features meets in Shanghai and ends on August 27 in Brussels.

Five of the six Golden League meets (Oslo, Paris, Rome, Zurich and Brussels) are part of the Diamond League, with Berlin's ISTAF meet dropped from the new event.

The Diamond League is expected to offer a lucrative prize for athletes, similar to the Golden League jackpot of 1 million dollars.

The exact format and competition schedules were due to be announced at a later stage, possibly at the official launch on August 22, 2009.

The 2010 Diamond League meets are in Doha (May 14), Shanghai (May 23), Oslo (June 4), Rome (June 10), New York (June 19), Eugene (July 3), Lausanne (July 8), Gateshead (July 11), Paris (July 16), Monte Carlo (July 22), Stockholm (August 6), London (August 13 and 14), Zurich (August 19), Brussels (August 27).

(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2009)