"Fifty years ago we had five world records in Brussels and we will remember that by trying to break those five records again during our meet," Gevaert told insidethegames.

"We can also announce that Mondo Duplantis will be coming to us again to do the pole vault so I think we are looking to an exciting edition of the meet."

Gevaert, a Beijing 2008 4x100 metres relay gold medallist, is the first woman to be appointed a Diamond League meeting director.

She succeeded Cédric Van Branteghem who became chief executive of the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee last year. 

Gevaert was visiting London to promote Belgian sports technology.

"I am still learning a lot, right now the most important thing for me is to keep the meeting on that high level," Gevaert added.

"Of course over time I hope I can put my own stamp on the meeting but it is running on rails with a very good team already."

In 2024 and 2026, the Memorial Van Damme is to act as the Diamond League's two-day season finale.

"There will be some changes, there are 32 disciplines so it is impossible to do that in one day," Gevaert reflected.

"So there will be two evenings, that will be a big change and it will be a much bigger event so it will be a very big party in Brussels."

The event was first held in 1977 in the memory of Belgium’s double Olympic silver medallist Ivo Van Damme, who died in a car crash at the age of 22 only a few months after the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

It has been held annually ever since but went ahead without spectators in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, although crowds were allowed back in 2021.

"A lot of people that come to the meeting are not always people who follow track and field a lot so a lot of things are new for them, so it is important as a meeting director to guide them, to help them to understand the sport," Gevaert admitted.

"It is very challenging to make the meeting good for the biggest track and field fan and also those who want to come to have a great evening and watch some sport."

Double Olympic heptathlon Nafi Thiam has spearheaded the latest surge of Belgian athletics stars.

Thiam won one of two athletics medals for Belgium at Tokyo 2020, with Bashir Abdi adding a bronze in the men's marathon.

"We have a very good generation, very good names and some good talent coming up, it is very promising and also something we need, because to able to keep on organising this kind of high standard of meeting in our country, we also need the Belgian athletes, and we are lucky to have them," Gevaert insisted.