The Mayor of London Boris Johnson was left dangling on a zip wire for several minutes when it stopped working at an Olympic live screen event.
He was trying out a 45m (150ft) high zip wire at Victoria Park, where the Games are being shown on big screens.
The wire then lost momentum, leaving him suspended "like an odd Christmas decoration" above a crowd of people.
As onlookers snapped photos, he joked: "This is great fun but it needs to go faster."
Lee Medcalf, who was at the event, said: "When Boris came down the zip wire, it was very James Bond-esque with him shouting 'Team GB'.
"However, he seemed to lose momentum and was left hanging there like an odd Christmas decoration for about five to 10 minutes.
"He spoke to the crowd, which had gathered beneath him, saying 'this is what it's all about; this is great, this is fantastic, this is Team GB'.
"I was thinking 'Yeah it's good, but you're still just hanging there'."
A spokesman for the mayor said: "The mayor has survived his first zip wire experience relatively unscathed.
"Clearly the judges are likely to have marked the mayor down for artistic impression, and unlike team GB, the mayor may not be winning too many Gold medals today.
"He does however remain unbowed."
Prime Minister David Cameron said London was "lucky to have" Boris Johnson as mayor.
Mr Cameron said: "If any other politician got stuck on a zip wire it would be disastrous.
"With Boris it's a triumph... London is lucky to have him."
Boris zips it
Boris zips it
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Boris zips it
Ohhhhh Boris!
My internal organs are cringing with all of London's shame.
Who keeps voting for this buffoon? None of my London buddies are admitting to it, but someone must have TWICE!
My internal organs are cringing with all of London's shame.
Who keeps voting for this buffoon? None of my London buddies are admitting to it, but someone must have TWICE!
Re: Boris zips it
.........Jim
Your avatar is Ronald Reagan, of course you'd think Boris would be a great leader.
Instead of the enormous douchebag most of us Brits know him to be.
Your avatar is Ronald Reagan, of course you'd think Boris would be a great leader.
Instead of the enormous douchebag most of us Brits know him to be.
Re: Boris zips it
Well Daze, my impression of Boris had always been that he was basically an eccentric gadfly who just enjoyed the limelight...
However, recently he was over here in the US, and I had occasions to see him in a couple of lengthy interviews.
And what came across to me was a guy who, while he may enjoy playing the clown, (and he may also see that "bigger-than-life" persona as useful to him politically) was really quite a thoughtful, intelligent, and articulate person.
He certainly did not come across as any sort of light weight buffoon...
I doubt however that he could ever become Prime Minister....
He doesn't appear to possess the sort of ass kissing skills generally required to rise to the top leadership of a major parliamentary party....
However, recently he was over here in the US, and I had occasions to see him in a couple of lengthy interviews.
And what came across to me was a guy who, while he may enjoy playing the clown, (and he may also see that "bigger-than-life" persona as useful to him politically) was really quite a thoughtful, intelligent, and articulate person.
He certainly did not come across as any sort of light weight buffoon...
I doubt however that he could ever become Prime Minister....
He doesn't appear to possess the sort of ass kissing skills generally required to rise to the top leadership of a major parliamentary party....
Re: Boris zips it
Boris is anything but a buffoon, though his playing one is artful to the extreme, and serves him well.
Daisy, who would you prefer for PM, Boris, or one of the Milliband Bliar clones?
Daisy, who would you prefer for PM, Boris, or one of the Milliband Bliar clones?
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Boris zips it
Boris Johnson has dismissed talk of him becoming the next prime minister, joking: 'How could anybody elect a prat who gets stuck in a zip wire?'
The London mayor was repeatedly asked in an interview if he would like to be the next prime minister but dismissed speculation as a 'silly season' story.
He was shown footage of him stuck last week on a 150ft high, 1,000ft long zip wire at the London Live event in Victoria Park, east London, when he was left dangling over a crowd of people after losing momentum.
'There you have got it,' he said. 'How on earth could you elect that guy? How could anybody elect a prat who gets stuck in a zip wire?'
'I tell you what happened, I was trying to publicise our live site in Victoria Park, which is a wonderful place, by the way.'
Speaking on ITV Daybreak, he added that the experience had been 'slightly scarier' than it appeared, joking that his actions had been 'heroic'.
'After I got stuck on that thing, we did have a big increase in the number of visitors, so it wasn’t totally fatuous, contrary to appearances,' he said.
Asked by presenter Kate Garraway if he fancied being prime minister, he responded: 'No, of course not, because I have got four years of mayor of London ahead ... perhaps this is the moment to knock this once and for all on the head?'
'I am mayor of London and my cup runs over, and plus ... we have got the Paralympics and they are going to be fantastic too.'
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”