The mere presence of Usain Bolt amplifies any event, sporting or not, but his press conference on arrival at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games went dangerously close to backfiring as the Jamaican superstar dealt with several varieties of the question, "Why the hell are you here?"

To his credit, Bolt explained that, having missed the 2006 games in Melbourne with a strained hamstring and the 2010 Delhi version because it interrupted his world championships preparation, he was keen to run at an event "that Jamaicans have always been keen to take part in". The 4x100m relay heats here will be his first race of 2014, and, he said, "I really need this run". He would have competed in the individual sprints, he went on, except for an injury that kept him out of the Jamaican team trials. And, to put it in a nutshell, "as long as there are athletes and there are eight lanes, there is competition", and even if he is not "in running shape", he is still "in pretty good shape".

In the limelight: Usain Bolt. Credit:James Brickwood

Full points for effort, but Bolt was still begging the question. He did not know who was in the Jamaican relay team, and offered no prognosis on the men’s 100m, as he was not sure who was running. It wasn’t all that convincing, so the big question soon arrived. Asked if he was actually going to run - and not just appear with the mascot and be an unofficial games ambassador before pulling out - Bolt said with a laugh: "That is a weird question. I don’t have any other reason to travel all the way to Glasgow."

No reason at all, in fact, and he will be here for a week. During that time, he will live in the athletes’ village, "but I will stay in my room most of the time". He will go out to watch the Jamaican netball team, but has no other plans, having expected little from Scotland but "a lot of rain, maybe". He won’t be here to solve or voice an opinion on the Gaza crisis ("I don’t have the full details") or the upcoming Scottish independence referendum ("I didn’t even know that"). He was under no pressure to be here, from sponsors or anyone else, and to come and run was his decision, taken in consultation with his coach, as a way of staying in tune. Otherwise, he said, he would be sitting around "getting lazy and fat".

With that he was off, his speed impeded by his duty to bolster the world’s stock of selfies in case it ever goes into deficit. Glasgow will be thrilled, on the basis that all publicity is good publicity. Bolt is here and the games are alive. He just needs to get those details sorted out.