Announcing the target, Mark Egan, the International Rugby Board's (IRB) head of development and performance, said: "People love coming to sevens events.

"They get two days of great entertainment, they get close to the players, there's a great atmosphere and it's a family event so I think 500,000 for the whole series is a good target to set ourselves.

"They've been growing steadily over the years.

"Hong Kong, Wellington, Dubai and South Africa have all reached the stage where they sell out, the London tournament is setting new records year on year, the USA event in Las Vegas will grow as will the events in Australia and Scotland, so I think if can all reach that figure together it will show again the global popularity of sevens."

Giles Morgan, group head of sponsorship at HSBC Holdings, added: "This is a sport that has so much potential.

"Sevens now is going into a whole new orbit in terms of interest from new countries around the world and at the very pinnacle of the sport is the HSBC Sevens World Series.

"It's hugely exciting - when the sevens was announced into the Olympic programme we were very keen to start conversations with the IRB.

"It is the showcase for the very best teams in the world and to be here in Dubai at the start of the 2010/11 Series is really exciting - the weather is fantastic and we are due a real festival of rugby."

The 2009/10 World Series attracted the highest number of fans through the turnstiles to date - 471,000.

The final squads for all 16 teams competing in Dubai will be announced today.


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