Jamaica's six-times Olympic champion and world record holder for the 100 and 200 metres has yet to declare whether he will grace the newly laid temporary track here at Scotland's National Stadium when the Commonwealth Games get underway in July.

But Grevemberg stressed that even without arguably the biggest sports star on the planet, Glasgow 2014 will still welcome many of the best athletes in the world this summer.

"Since London 2012 we have had an enormous response from athletes indicating that they will be coming to Glasgow 2014 to compete and I think it will be unprecedented in terms of Commonwealth Games history," said Grevemberg.

"In terms of Usain Bolt, I think he has made all the right sounds so far but ultimately the final entry [list] is not until June and that will be the starting point for us.

"Ultimately, selection is the authority of the Commonwealth Games Associations and we are working very closely with them across all sports to make sure that the stage is set and they see this as an attractive proposition and has the gravitas and global appeal so they see this as the place they want to be.

"Six weeks before the Games is when the teams will be putting in their final entries so from that standpoint it's not written in bold yet."

Will Usain Bolt be waving to the crowds inside Hampden Park during this year's Commonwealth Games? ©AFP/Getty Images



Bolt admitted last year that he "would love to" compete in Glasgow in what would be his first Commonwealth Games appearance after pulling out of Melbourne 2006 with injury and choosing not to attend Delhi 2010.

His coach Glen Mills has indicated a decision on whether to compete will be not be made until the conclusion of the Jamaican National Championships in Kingston, scheduled to take place from June 19 to 22.

The 27-year-old appeared to bring the prospect of making his Commonwealth Games debut closer last year after one of his main sponsors, Virgin Media, signed on as an official sponsor of Glasgow 2014 and Presenting Partner of Athletics at the event.

Bolt is expected to appear in an advertising campaign with double Olympic champion Mo Farah in the build-up to the Games.

While there are still doubts over whether Farah will compete at Glasgow 2014, Bolt's compatriot and Olympic and world 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce confirmed last month she will be aiming for gold here.

Olympic and world champion Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce has confirmed her intention to go for Commonwealth gold this summer ©Getty Images


Less than two weeks before the start of the Games on July 23, Hampden Park will host the Sainsbury's Glasgow Grand Prix for which athletes have been granted a special tax exemption from the Government.

It is a move that is likely to further increase speculation that Bolt could extend his stay in the city should he attend the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond League meeting.

Away from athletics, former Tour de France winner and four-time Olympic champion Sir Bradley Wiggins also confirmed his appearance in Glasgow, which Grevemberg says illustrates the quality of competition that will be on show this summer.

"In terms of the ambition of athletes I'd like to remind everyone that over 170 of the athletes that were medallists at the London 2012 Olympics were from the Commonwealth across all sports and of course athletics was a big part of that," he said.

"From that standpoint we are confident that a large number of those top performers will be here in Glasgow."

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