The 2010 World Basketball Championship will kick off in four Turkish cities on Saturday, the biggest basketball event held in Turkey ever.

Around 350,000 people are expected to watch the games in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Kayseri, with the final due in Istanbul on Sept. 12, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

A total of 24 teams, divided into four groups, are qualified for the event, while the winner of the championship will qualify automatically for the London 2012 Olympics.

The first round of the championship will feature basketball stars such as Boris Diaw, Carlos Arroyo and Anderson Varejao, but several other superstars including Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki will miss this year's tournament, said the report.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, State Minister Faruk Nafiz Ozak and FIBA President Bob Elphinston will participate in the opening ceremony for the championship in Istanbul on Friday evening, according to the agency.

Turkish singers and composers Sezen Aksu, Fatih Erkoc and Muslum Gurses as well as Greece's Harris Alexiou and Italian tenor Alessandro Safina will take the stage, while Turkish dance group Fire of Anatolia will also perform in the ceremony.