Some nervous moments behind the scenes and a mixed reaction to the new-look presentation couldn't stop the World Athletics Ultimate Championship's first night delivering plenty to be excited about in Budapest.

It was never going to go completely smoothly but the first session of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest got off to a promising and entertaining start.

There were some nervous moments at the pre-event press conference, which was delayed due to the late arrival of “Ultimate Legend” Usain Bolt. The fastest man in the world has slowed down since hanging up his spikes, but he got to Budapest in the end and was excited to be part of an innovative new event which World Athletics has put enormous effort into to create a showcase moment at the end of a summer is otherwise bereft of a global championships.

“I’m just relieved the event is about to get underway,” said Seb Coe. “It’s been a Herculean effort from everyone involved.”

The weather gods did not completely play ball on this first night with cool temperatures of 16-17C but it could have been worse as there had been rain earlier in the day.

A heavy rain storm on Wednesday night had also partly washed away the black paint on the grassy in-field, which meant it needed to be resprayed again on Thursday.

The jury is out on whether the red carpet fashion parade and media session 24 hours before the action began actually 'worked' as well. Some athletes seemed to enjoy it, while others looked a little awkward. Still, as Coe said in the press conference, making reference to his background from the steel city of Sheffield: “This is going to be a blast furnace of ideas.”

When the actual event got underway on Friday, the arena was lit up with bright flashing lights and fireworks. The stadium was filled up to its 20,557 capacity, albeit it has been scaled down from the bigger attendances at the 2023 World Championships in the same arena.

On TV, viewers were given ‘predicted finishing positions’ for the athletes and ‘chances of qualifying as a percentage’ – the kind of details that could deflate or inspire an athlete if they saw it before they started – plus some novel and attractive graphics.

When the first race unfolded – the mixed 4x100m final – the stadium boomed with Pump Up the Jam by Technotronic and the din was such that the stadium commentator couldn’t be heard.

As a visual spectacle, it looked great, though. The branding had a bit of a Britain’s Got Talent feel to it. But the lights worked well with the black in-field and a busy and enthusiastic crowd helped elevate the atmosphere.

Not surprisingly, the athletics performances themselves soon overtook the nuances of the stadium presentation and as the night unfolded there were fine victories from athletes Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 5000m, Yaroslava Mahuchikh in the high jump, Larissa Iapichino in the long jump and Masai Russell in the 100m hurdles.

"I wasn't sure how it was going to feel but it did actually feel like a world championships, which was good," said Keely Hodgkinson after winning her 800m heat.

The Ultimate Championship has been successful in attracting big-name athletes, too, no doubt largely due to the handsome $150,000 winner’s prize in the individual events.

All in all, the Ultimate Championship enjoyed a fine debut. It was not perfect, but there were far more pluses than minuses.

READ MORE: Ingebrigtsen shines with 5000m victory

The crowd left with their athletics appetites sated and we now look forward to Saturday’s and Sunday’s second and third acts with more eager anticipation than trepidation.