The Mayor of London says he has been blown away by China’s hosting of the Olympic Games, but not intimidated.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson speaks at a press conference after arriving in Beijing on August 21, 2008 to attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games where he will formally receive the flame from China for the 2012 Games. [Agencies]

Boris Johnson will receive the Olympic flag from the Mayor of Beijing, Guo Jinlong, in the closing ceremony on August 24, as Great Britain prepares to host the 2012 Games. Speaking at London House in Beijing yesterday, he said: “I speak for millions when I say we have been dazzled and blown away by these Games, but we have not been intimidated. “I think that with our ingenuity, we will produce a fantastic opening ceremony and Olympic Games. You will get a foretaste in our eight-minute slot at the closing ceremony.”

Great Britain’s performance at the closing ceremony will feature footballing superstar David Beckham, the Royal Ballet, singer Leona Lewis and hip hop dance group ZooNation. Johnson congratulated the Great British team on their success in the medals table, winning the best haul of medals for 100 years, and said their performance combined with the spectacle of the Beijing Games, was winning over those in London who are not yet behind the Games. He added: “I want to congratulate the Chinese and the Beijing authorities on how they’ve organized the Olympics. These Games are changing public perception in London. In a ferment of excitement, Olympic-skeptics are being converted. The Games are a fantastic thing to watch and be part of. That’s why I’ve come to learn how the Chinese have managed to pull this off and how we are going to achieve an equally good Games in 2012, and without going over the 9.3 billion pounds ceiling.”

Talking about London’s challenge of staging the Games in an economic downturn, he said: “We secured the right to these Games in a time of economic plenty and we are delivering them in a possible recession but ours isn’t going to be a mean, penny-pinching Games.” Asked what the mission statement of London 2012 would be he said: “We are the greatest, most generous, most cosmopolitan city on Earth.” He added that there are currently 80,000 Chinese students studying in the UK contributing to the country’s “constellation of first class universities”.

This is his first foreign trip as Mayor of London, having been elected in May. The Mayor is responsible for the strategic running of the capital, from managing London’s government to running transport services, police and fire services and promoting the city’s economy. To this end, he said: “I’m absolutely determined to make sure these Games, with the symbolic transfer of the flag, should propel forward the very important trading relationship between Britain and China. We are the biggest European investor in China and I hope the handover process means we continue our relationship.