More than 6,000 Irish dancers from around the world will step into Philadelphia this weekend for the Irish Dancing World Championships.

This is the first time that the event, sometimes called the Olympics of Irish dance, has been held outside Ireland or Scotland.

The Irish dancers are drawn from more than 400 Irish dancing schools from all five continents.

In addition, more than 12,000 spectators will attend the eight days of competition.

One special guest is expected to be Irish dance superstar Michael Flatley.

The championships are so popular that event organizers had to add a second venue to host the dancers.

IrishCentral will be at the Worlds all week and we will have special coverage all week from the Opening Ceremony on Sunday.

The event opens Sunday at 5 p.m. with a flag ceremony which will depict the dancers' home nations.

During the week, the dancing competitions will take place at either the Kimmel Center or the Marriott Hotel, and we will be there to report back to you!