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GB medals have swayed the sceptics says Boris
Pippa Crerar, City Hall Editor21.08.08
Britain's impressive Olympic medal haul has helped swing public support behind 2012 in London, Boris Johnson said in Beijing today.
He claimed scepticism, particularly over the £9.3 billion budget, was slowly ebbing away.
Team GB has won 17 gold medals so far in what has turned out to be Britain's most successful Olympics since 1908.
The Mayor told reporters: "The amazing success of Team GB is completely blowing away the Olympo-scepticism of large chunks of the public and it's a wonderful thing to behold.
"These Games are changing public perception of the Olympics. I've just come in from London and I can tell you that the city is in a state of excitement."
He admitted many Londoners still feared the budget would increase further.
"We are being asked to deliver the Games during a credit crunch and a downturn and possible recession. We seek economies wherever we can find them and that's exactly what we're doing," he said.
But he insisted that he would not impose a "mean, penny-pinching austerity" on the Games and the capital would still end up with a fantastic show.
He said cutting costs while at the same time guaranteeing a meaningful legacy posed a "dilemma and difficulty".
Mr Johnson said he was not intimidated by the success of the Beijing Olympics and insisted London could hold its own.
"We have been dazzled, we have been impressed, we have been blown away by these Games but we have not been intimidated. In our own sweet way without wasting taxpayers' money I'm sure that we can do just as well in 2012," he said. Mr Johnson admitted he had not raised China's human rights record in his meetings with Beijing officials - saying the Games was not the right time or place.
"I think millions of people in Britain are deeply concerned about human rights in China but I feel very strongly that these Games offer a fantastic opportunity for China to open to the rest of the world," he said. "I certainly don't think you can overlook human rights abuses."
The Mayor had earlier arrived in China looking tired and dishevelled after a cattleclass flight from London.
British Airways denied the Mayor an upgrade from his economy seat on the nine-hour overnight flight to the Olympics.
City Hall aides requested a move to business class for the Mayor before leaving Heathrow but were turned down. A spokesman for British Airways refused to comment on the request but it is certain to be viewed as a snub by mayoral aides who were convinced their boss would be treated like a VIP.
Mr Johnson said later: "I travelled very, very comfortably in World Traveller. We were attended by every possible comfort and I have no regrets. I neither sought nor, am I sad to say, was I offered an upgrade. In fact I was explicitly refused one."
Mr Johnson will have a key role in the closing ceremony on Sunday when he receives the Olympic flag from his Beijing counterpart.
Reader views (12)
One of the side effects of the credit crunch and the slow down in the construction market is a lot of construction companies looking to do work at prices significantly below those that would have been charged 12 months ago. A commercial approach to the building contracts for the Olympic facilities should result in major savings as builders shave margins as they compete for work.
- Inoff The Red, London UK
Boris was probably only expecting what Ken got for free off of the Chinese government.
The only difference is that Boris, as yet has not ridden roughshod over the rights of Londoners and as yet has not totally ignored the voices of real Londoners.
If Boris had been a nasty little communist with nothing but contempt for the voting masses he would have got the full VIP treatment paid for by the Chinese people.
- Jimbob, Kensington
If the return air fare is around 700 pounds and each night costs 400 pounds and subsistence about 50 pounds a day then the costs for 13 persons will only amount to about 40,000 pounds. Where is the 127,000 balance disappeared to?
That's a lot of Crystal!
- Tim Hardacre, London UK
9 hour flight from London to Beijing? I don't think so.....It takes 8 hours to get to Dubai from London and 12 hours to get to Shanghai which is just south of Beijing.....
- Darren, London
"Boris Johnson arrived in Beijing today looking tired and dishevelled". When does he ever look anything other than this?
Congrats to Boris for slumming it with the proles and for having the chutzpah to ask for an upgrade. If you don't ask, you don't get. I would rather he flew economy and tried to blag a bigger seat than paying vast sums of my tax for a flat bed and a glass of fizz, as Golden Gordon has doubtless done with his family.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, Scotland
Where's the quote from Boris complaining about not getting his upgrade? Did I miss it?
- St, London
I'm afraid that what must have seemed at the time a valid decision to cut costs could be self-defeating, because no one travelling long-haul in cattle-class and packing important meetings and decisions into just five days is going to be functioning at their best. Sometimes, Boris, paying for business class tickets, staying in a decent hotel and making sure you stick around long enough to do the job properly is actually an investment, not an extravagance.
- Ken, Bexleyheath
Nine hours in economy for a major political figure is not the way to do things.
Don't go over the top with the "man of the people" bit Boris
- Jason Stone, Stratford, Newham
Why should Boris Johnson be upgraded, the Mayors office paid for an economy ticket and that's what he got. They should have paid for and flown business class, why do politicians try to be like the man in the street and fly economy, the voters don't really care if the mayor travels in business or even first class, this is a business trip to represent London and the UK and as percentage cost against the Mayors budget the difference between the two fares is minimal.
- Howard, London, UK
Why should he get an upgrade over anyone else. Pay more (of your own money) for your ticket then Boris!
- Charlie, London
If he wanted an upgrade he should have paid for it, why should there be an assumption that he should automatically be given it? Pay for it then there's no problem is there.
- Louise, Essex
Mayor Boris Johnson - man of the people.
He makes a "high-profile decision to travel economy" but then expects a free upgrade.
How awful for him to have to travel with the unwashed masses.
Then again, Boris doesn't travel by public transport so he is probably not used to it.
I think Londoners will regret electing this man in years to come, particularly in the run-up to 2012.
It is doubtful that London would have won the Olympic bid if Boris Johnson had been in charge at the time.
At the moment, he seems to have a 'chimpanzee-like' control over his staff.
- James, Brighton, UK
