AS the man charged with delivering the 2014 Commonwealth Games, David Grevemberg could be forgiven for having missed a few events amid the whirlwind of activity he faced when the eyes of the world were trained on Glasgow.

But it was not the case. Five months after the closing ceremony, the chief executive of Glasgow 2014 remains as excited as any sports fan when he talks about the athletes he saw perform and the medals that were won during the summer.

Now serving as the chief executive of the Commonwealth Federation, the softly spoken American cannot help but become animated when he recalls his personal highlights.

He said: "The opening ceremony touched my heart. The words that kept coming into my mind were 'We have arrived. It's our time.'

"I made a point to get out to everything and really get a sense of how were creating the joy that we set out to do. I asked myself, 'are we creating the inspiration and the excitement?'

"Every place we went, people just made it come alive. [800 metres silver medallist] Lynsey Sharp gave an incredible performance. So did Usain Bolt. Those moments were just amazing."

Described as the most successful Commonwealth Games ever, the 11 days of sport saw Glasgow welcome thousands of visitors while images of the city were beamed across the globe.

Arriving in the midst of a summer heatwave, the city has rarely looked better and Mr Grevemberg believes that Glaswegians rose to the occasion magnificently.

He said: "Delighted just isn't the word for it. I was enamoured with the response of Glasgow to itself.

"In some ways I think that people were initially surprised, but then people were bolstered by a great confidence that this is the way we are.

"It was just great to be a passenger on that and great to have the privilege to be evangelical about something so positive, about a community and citizen base that cares so much about themselves and also about the broader world.

"I think that a number of things that we did, such as the human rights initiative, and the audacity and initiative to create conversations much much bigger than ourselves is very Glaswegian."

He added: "I was genuinely surprised that the 'cafe Glasgow' feel turned out how exactly we envisioned it.

"The street parties on the pavements, and people just out enjoying themselves throughout the city was better than we could have hoped for.

"People's responsiveness to the Games was amazing. They changed their behaviour to adapt to all the traffic disruption and the demands. There was a real kind of communal 'Let's get into this and have a lot fun' type of spirit."

With a working day beginning at 6.30am and ending after midnight, the hours in between passed in a blur.

However, he did manage to catch several of the events and his own personal highlights include some of the stand-out moments of the sporting competition.

"I went to see the women's boxing and Nicola Adams," he said. "It was the first time that women's boxing had been included in the Games so to see the gold medallist at the Olympics go out and be the first Commonwealth gold medallist was great.

"[Scottish gold medallist] Charlie Flynn was astounding, and Team Scotland just played out of their skin. They performed in glorious fashion, but were humble with it and I think that is a real testament to their character.

"The road race in the rain provided the contrast and those eight guys who finished the course showed the guts and glory of you only see with an outdoor sport."

Mr Grevemberg said that most of his job was making sure that people "were having the time of their lives and doing the work of their lives", while also positioning the event as a launchpad for the city and future Commonwealth Games.

The legacy of the event can be seen in the world-class sports facilities and entertainment venues of Glasgow, but also in the transformation of the athletes village into social housing and a wider appreciation of sport.

Now other countries look set to learn from Scotland's example, with Glasgow 2014 providing a template for others to follow.

He said: "The approach that Glasgow took to creating world-class but community-relevant venues, to looking at smart, sustainable solutions to venues that you don't need after the Games, was inspirational.

"There were things that were brought forward by the Games but not for the Games, like the Emirates and the Hydro. The Games village area had been on the books for regeneration for a long time, but the Games accelerated that.

"The programming and planning around those is appropriate for Glasgow, and that is sustainable. That's something that other Commonwealth Games will feed into.

"Already people are looking towards Glasgow to ensure that their venues are smarter in terms of planning and programming that will go into them."

Instead of building a brand new 80,000-seater stadium which would see little use once the Games are over, other countries are looking to Glasgow's example of providing venues which have a life afterwards.

Mr Grevemberg pointed to the temporary athletics track fitted at Hampden stadium and then dismantled once the Games came to a end.

He said: "We have the Hampden track, which has coined a phrase in the industry as the 'Glasgow solution'.

"Glasgow has arrived yet again and it's been great to showcase everything that we are. It's important to all of us to nurture that, whether by running events or continuing to be ambitious."