Usain Bolt will compete in an innovative street race over 150 metres at the Great CityGames in Manchester on May 17.

The triple Olympic champion will race on European soil for the first time this year before tackling other races on the IAAF World Athletics Tour in June and July ahead of the World Championships in Berlin in August.

The appearance of Bolt, who memorably became the first man ever to complete an Olympic sprint double with two world record times in Beijing before anchoring Jamaica to a third in the 4x100m relay, is expected to attract thousands of fans to Manchester.

The 22-year-old Jamaican, who won his first 100m race of the year last weekend in a wind-assisted 9.93 seconds, will run on a specially constructed tartan track in the city centre.

Bolt said: "I am very excited to compete for my first time in Manchester, my first time in a 150m race and my first time in a street race outside the stadium.

"I love competing in the UK, it is like my second home as I usually stay in London during the European racing season.

"When I heard about the idea I thought it would be great fun and something new and exciting."

Bolt, who is eager to sample the atmosphere of racing in a new concept for the sport, added: "Hopefully this event will be the start of many more similar events all over the world and inspire kids to take up athletics."

The Manchester United fan added: "I am also looking forward to going to Old Trafford to support my team.

"I've wanted to come to a match for a long time and am delighted to get the opportunity."

Looking ahead to his summer campaign, Bolt added: "The IAAF World Championships in August is my goal for 2009 but I am looking forward to Manchester and my first European race of the season."

Meeting organisers Nova International staged a successful series of sprint races on Newcastle and Gateshead's quayside last autumn and believe Bolt's presence will bolster their plans to take athletics to the streets.

They are already in the planning stages for the Great North CityGames featuring an international street athletics 'Ashes' match between England and Australia this September.

"In the past, by definition, track and field athletics has taken place in a stadium or an indoor arena," said spokesman David Hart.

"The feedback from Newcastle and Gateshead, where we experimented with the 100m sprints, told us that spectators were thrilled at being so close to world-class athletes they normally can only see from a distance in a stadium environment.

"I'm sure in Manchester the atmosphere will be even more electric and remember not only Bolt will be competing but some top British sprinters and overseas stars who are already looking towards the 2012 London Olympic Games.

"Hopefully, it will also provide an inspiration for youngsters who may be inspired to take up athletics as a career."

Bolt's presence is another notable sporting coup for Manchester, as earlier in the day Ethiopia's world marathon record holder Haile Gebrselassie will be bidding to regain his Bupa Great Manchester Run title in a record field of 33,000 runners over 10 kilometres.