Jones to enjoy a night at Palace

"There's always a world-class field here for this race and I'll be looking to gain an advantage in the build-up to the Games.

"So far I've been pleased with the way I've performed on the track since the comeback started but there still feels like there's a lot of work to do."

Crystal Palace holds happy memories for Jones. She last ran there two years ago, earning satisfying revenge over Zhanna Pintusevich-Block in their first meeting since the Ukrainian had sensationally defeated her at the 2001 world championship.

With Jones on board, Palace organisers will also expect to add the signature of her partner, Tim Montgomery, the world 100m record holder, for a men's race which will definitely feature Collins, the hugely popular winner of the world title in Paris last year, and the best of the British sprint brigade.

"The British guys like Darren Campbell and Mark Lewis-Francis always present a big challenge," said Collins, the man from St Kitts and Nevis who came to prominence here with his Commonwealth Games 100m triumph in Manchester two years ago.

"People were surprised when I won at the Games and then beat the world last year but now I've got the golds around my neck, I feel I really am the man to beat."

The two sprint races will be one of the highlights on a new Crystal Palace track which British athletics hopes will be the fastest in the country when it is completed at the beginning of July.

The renovation was needed to meet the technical requirements of the International Association of Athletics Federations, the sport's governing body.

Organisers expect to be naming other stars for the event over the next few weeks and predict that this send-off for Britain's Athens-bound performers will again ensure a 17,500 sell-out crowd.