Boris Johnson visits

Feet firmly on the ground in London

2009-09-23T12:17:00.003+01:00

For those of you wondering why it has gone quiet on this blog it's because I only update it when I'm abroad on official business.

If you want to follow what I'm up at all other times visit www.london.gov.uk or follow me on Twitter @mayoroflondon

Back in London - good old Piccadilly Line

2009-09-16T13:29:00.008+01:00

A busy few days but an extremely worthwhile trip. I'm looking rather worse for wear, much to the amusement of my fellow Tube passengers, but it's great to be home and on my way into the office again.

Thank you New York

2009-09-16T08:32:00.001+01:00

It’s hard to leave a great city. Even when returning to one that's arguably even better.

This is where I was born. I owe my very existence to the rich mix of people in this intense space who funded what was then the Puerto Rican health scheme. It funded my birth when my student parents would have struggled to get health insurance.

I thank the city for that. I thank the splendid, charming, patient supermen who escorted me around Manhattan over the last few days. In London I travel by bike with one cycling aide. Mike Bloomberg has now allowed me to glimpse that world where an SUV is always waiting, the doors always open, the hassle always pre-empted. It was a real treat. I cannot name the guys (for obvious reasons) but they know who they are and I'm grateful.

Thank you Mayor Bloomberg for the security detail. Thank you too for the wonderful dinner at your home and your kind words at the Manhattan Institute.

We are different political beasts but we have much in common. I salute your success in New York and our time together will sharpen my focus and stiffen my resolve.

I'm still reflecting on the site of ground zero - eight years on - and the tales your team have told me of a rising death toll and fresh suffering.

We share similar challenges safeguarding investment, seeing off threats to our core industries and persuading our most wealthy constituents that they have much to gain by proving their social responsibility.

Our shared privilege is to preside over people who have energy, enterprise and creative genius. We are fortunate and the good people of London and New York should face the future with confidence and determination.

Wrap up from Times Square

2009-09-15T23:19:00.004+01:00

More videos from New York are available at www.youtube.com/mayorsofficelondon

Speeches at Columbia University with Mayor Bloomberg

2009-09-15T15:46:00.004+01:00

Inspiring session with Michael Bloomberg, gently sparring over the relative strengths of our great cities. Have agreed we’re both high on a list of the two best cities in the world. Shamelessly boasted about London’s advantage in terms of universities, theatres, bookshops, Wi-Fi and a number of other fields. But both cities have a shared edge on the core qualities that lift us - energy, enterprise, creativity and a generosity of spirit. Packed hall at Columbia University where I used to sleep through lectures - not because they were tedious but because I was a baby when my mother was here as a student. Today's seminar proved very lively and spending time with Michael Bloomberg has sharpened my vision and resolve to re-establish London as the greatest city on earth when we welcome the world to our Olympics in 2012.

Early start at JFK to boost visits to London

2009-09-15T12:17:00.001+01:00

At JFK to wave off 200 American entrepreneurs taking their latest business plans to London. The last year's seen an alarming fall in visits from our sister city and the main reason I'm here is to put that right. It helps that Brits are doing very well on Broadway at the moment and arguably dominating some of the creative sectors here in New York. We're doing well in retail too as was clear in a very prestigious store, which hosted a fabulous reception for us last night. New York and London have always been in healthy competition with each other but both are clearly benefiting these days from a creative cross fertilisation fed by constant transatlantic traffic. I wish today’s passengers well with their ideas and look forward to sitting down later with my good friend Mayor Bloomberg to see how we can encourage more mutually beneficial schemes. I'll be checking in for my own flight home in about 12 hours.

NYC - the place to be

2009-09-14T17:01:00.003+01:00

Facing stiff competition for my next speech. Slight clash with a keynote address by a certain Barack Obama! Still, impressive list of powerful people for my private lunch at Thompson Reuters. And press interest here's been almost overwhelming. My opening of the Nasdaq was carried live over multiple channels and projected on a massive screen on Times Square. Wonder if our exchanges in London should create a bit more of a carnival to get the day's trading underway. President Obama and I are both focussing on similar concerns - the future of our financial sectors. I understand the lure of legislation, or regulation as it would end up, and I get the public mood. But I do urge everyone to tread carefully on this one to avoid harming a sector that has been vital to the success of London and New York, and should - I believe - have a thriving future.
To view the coverage of my NASDAQ speech and the opening bell ceremony go to the NASDAQ homepage - link below. You'll need to fast forward to 4mins 40 seconds for my speech and bell ringing: http://www.nasdaq.com/marketsite/marketsite-events-detail.aspx?fn=200909-open09142009.txt

Live on Fox News

2009-09-14T13:55:00.007+01:00

Early start. Live on Fox News ahead of a high powered breakfast with leading investors. President Obama's here in New York later today urging tighter regulation of the financial sector. Don't want to clash with him but have shared my concerns with Fox about the need to tread carefully here. Our sister cities have thrived on innovation, enterprise and the enormous energy of our key sectors. And finance has been central - producing huge tax revenue to fund public services as well as enormous income which sustains so many other jobs outside finance. I'll shortly be ringing the opening bell at Nasdaq. Later I'll have a similar stunt to close the NYSE. Let's hope for a record day of trading in the meantime.

Thank you Michael!

2009-09-14T07:56:00.003+01:00

Terrific night at the stunning private home of Michael Bloomberg. The Mayor of New York was one of the first people to visit me after my election to City Hall and he threw the most wonderful party in my honour last night. Shouldn't really say who was there but can't resist mentioning the adorable Emma Thompson, top newscaster Katie Couric, and a very powerful newspaper man credited with frightening influence over British politics. We share many common challenges as Mayors and I'll be spelling some of them out as I ring the opening bell on the NASDAQ exchange later today and close the NYSE at the end of the day's trading. But Mayor Bloomberg was quite right to remind me last night of our first meeting in my office. He handed me a beautiful crystal apple. I gave him a shirt showing a map of our underground. Last night was payback time. I am now the proud owner of a hat, an umbrella and a tie all emblazoned with the the New York subway lines - thank you! Mike and I will get down to business tomorrow at the Manhattan Institute. First I'll be spending a day with some of the most powerful investors in the world, reminding them of the exciting, and lucrative opportunities open to them in London.

Christmas in London

2009-09-13T11:48:00.003+01:00

Morning all. A fine day in Manhattan. Central Park looking splendid on my jet-lagged dawn run. Off shortly to the Disney Store to help promote their version of Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol. It's got fabulous British actors like Bob Hoskins, countless scenes of our great capital and it will set the scene for the Christmas lights in the west end when it premiers in November. It feels a little early for carols perhaps but I look forward to the choir on 5th Avenue later and I'm delighted Disney will help fund the energy-efficient light bulbs which will light up London during the forthcoming festive season. Tourism has proved robust in these difficult times, but visits from North America are down. So this is a chance - alongside others in the next few days - to put that right.

9/11 British Memorial Garden

2009-09-12T20:00:00.000+01:00

Some footage here of my visit to the British Memorial Garden in Lower Manhattan, a wonderful memorial to those who died in the tragedy.

New York Visit - arrival

2009-09-12T19:40:00.003+01:00

Just landed in New York - the city where I was born. My good friend Mayor Bloomberg kindly sent two detectives to ease my passage through immigration and the weekend traffic. All talk here is of Derek Jeter - the Yankees captain who has just set a new record with 2,722 hits. The City is also reflecting on the 8th anniversarry of 9/11. My close colleagues in the NYPD have been recaling their own roles clearing the debris at ground zero, and explained how the death toll is still rising because of of illnesses contracted then that are killing some survivors now. Mayor Bloomberg has paid tribute to "the compassion and selfless acts" which helped the city move on. I'll be visiting the British Memorial Garden, launched in 2003 and opened to the public two years ago. 67 obelisks stand in memory of the 67 British citizens murdered that day. A rose, thistle, flax and daffodil reminds us they came from every part of the UK and the motto says it all: "Reflect, remember, rebuild".

New York, New York

2009-09-11T07:37:00.000+01:00

Great weekend ahead, back to my birthplace in New York. Looking forward to championing London and saluting its sister city.

It's a pretty packed schedule. I'm going to meet some top actors, glamorous fashion figures and some high powered business leaders. Also spending some time with my good friend Michael Bloomberg, the New York Mayor, and doing a joint session at a prestigious Manhattan Institute conference.

Our cities have much in common and we'll be making some anouncements about joint projects that will benefit us both.

Persuading Bill Clinton to visit Elephant and Castle

2009-05-20T21:16:00.000+01:00

Just met the former US president - Bill Clinton. Persuaded him to visit Elephant and Castle when he's next in London.

Why there you may ask - with some justification? The answer is because this often-maligned patch of London is now at the cutting edge of combating climate change.

Plans for a multi utility services company there are at the core of a regeneration project that will involve the most advanced carbon neutral systems in the world. Untreated water will be drawn from a natural reservoir underground to meet a 100 per cent of non-drinking use. A biomass power plant will provide electricity to 5000 homes, the heat taken through water pipes across the entire development, the electric generated from steam turbines and gas engines. There'll be wind harnessed, solar panels and a string of high tech solutions to dazzle the world

"It's big. It’s very exciting" as President Clinton says, throwing the weight of his global climate initiative behind the Southwark-led scheme. I am exploring how I can contribute to this pioneering scheme alongside the ambitious plans I have at City Hall. I'm confident, as I've just told the summit, that London is on course to be one of the greenest cities on earth.

The greenest city on Earth

2009-05-20T02:26:00.000+01:00

I've a confession to make as the Seoul Summit nears the end. I have become fiercely competitive on climate change. That's why - in an interview with a powerful American outlet - I made the bold prediction here that London will be the greenest city on earth by 2012.

That deadline is more important to me than other Mayors at this conference because that's when the world comes to London for the Olympics. It's clearly a tough target but I am - my friends - determined to do my best to meet it.

On stage today I encouraged every delegate to join us for the Games - and tried to tempt them with my dream of what they could see on arrival.

Stepping off the train at Paddington, I'd invite them to pedal onwards using one of the beautiful bikes available for hire every 150 metres in central London by next summer.

The roads should be easier as they ease onto a cycle super highway, breathing sweeter air as they pass cars generating no fumes and little noise. Thousands of trees, planted as we speak, will be filtering the air and casting cool shadows over the pavements.

The claustrophobic clutter will have gone, our urban realm subtly but strikingly more attractive. There'll be plants growing on roofs, railway sidings and canal boats. London's parks will have harvested the large investment now going into them.

London by then will be out of the global recession - helped by the new opportunities in the green economy, the City of London leading the world in green financial instruments.

Construction will have been helped by a massive programme of retrofitting homes. We don't want to be lagging behind on lagging. We'll be generating electricity from what is now considered waste. And our low carbon zones will pioneer the very best and latest in environmentally sound products and practices.

This sounds utopian, but it's well within grasp. But it won't come through warm words and communiques which is why my stubborn call - here in Seoul - is for real action to make this dream for many of us come true.

At the Olympic Village in Seoul

2009-05-19T00:12:00.000+01:00

21 years ago their Olympic Games helped consolidate democracy here, boosted the Korean medal tally dramatically, raised the country's profile around the world and increased GDP. It also - as I witnessed today - left a lasting legacy of impressive and rather beautiful infrastructure.

I shamelessly took notes as the custodians of this wonderful site explained how all the athletes' apartments had been pre-sold before the games. I marvelled at the aquatics centre which had hundred of youngsters training hard in it - and does so from 6am till late practically every day. Sports participation here took a big leap two decades ago and has never looked back
Their Olympics museum is designed to draw in the crowds and preserve the fond memories of those games and others. The gymnasium - as I entered - was being prepared for yet another concert.

Seoul - my friends - is a shining example of what every Olympic Games could be and what London 2012 has to be. I came here primarily for a climate conference, but seeing the Olympic park has been a huge bonus - a reminder of the challenge and the opportunity we now have in London.

Seoul - at the Olympic Park

2009-05-18T19:15:00.000+01:00

Seoul for the C40 Summit

2009-05-17T23:46:00.000+01:00

It's a long way to travel for a climate conference. My flight - as always - was offset. I'm travelling with just two of my aides, booking economy flights and seeking the best value for the taxpayer at every stage.

Nevertheless I feel a need to justify this trip. I hope the other Mayors signed up to the C40 group share that.

We cannot cross the globe to exchange platitudes and sign bland documents. Sharing best practice is valuable, passing on tips and subjecting each other to peer pressure on the vital challenge we all face of combating climate change is obviously useful. As Deputy Chair of this Group, and with London hosting the C40 Secretariat (though another city picks up that bill) I'm more than happy to be here. But if this summit is worth holding, it has to prompt practical and noticeable change. Colleagues will have their own ideas. I will propose my own at dinner tomorrow.

What I read on a long flight, and what i witnessed of South Korea from the airport is impressive. The 13th largest economy in the world has slowed down like everyone else, but it's still growing convincingly and the roads, rails, bridges and building into town are proof of the enormous infrastructure improvements that have gone along with that. But they're also on a mission to improve the feel of the city - much as I aim to do in London. A haggard old highway in the city centre has been cleared, an old waterway rediscovered and set in a striking urban park.

There are large clusters of trees as well as sky scrapers defining the view from my hotel window, and my jog, just now, took me through some beautiful landscape. I hear good things too about the site of Seoul's Olympics two decades ago and look forward to visiting that tomorrow. There are always lessons to be learned, and this seems a good place to study.

Beijing's Olympic legacy

2008-09-19T03:32:00.000+01:00

Great meeting with the Vice Mayor of Beijing Chen Gang, who handled all the construction for their Olympics.

I'm impressed how the city is already moving beyond the Games to ensure the site has a legacy. Chen Gang told me about a science museum and art gallery that will be opened in their park.

The athletes' apartments - praised by their occupants over the last few weeks - are all set to be sold off. Many of the venues are already tied to universities and students will soon enjoy them.

I'm told of other potentially lasting benefits to this city, like the traffic-reducing measures put in place for the Games. Locals have got used to only driving their cars on alternate days, according to whether their registration plate ends in an odd or even number. The scheme's due to end tomorrow but there's widespread public support for keeping it and the Mayor of Beijing is very tempted.

Air quality was vastly improved by the closure of dozens of factories before the Games and friends tell me most of those will not re-open.

The trick for us is to build on the good relationship between London and Beijing in the aftermath of these Games. That's why I've just had lunch at Beijing Zoo, which wants closer collaboration with London Zoo. In time, sharing expertise could lead to exchanging staff and some animals, as well as pooling resources to conserve habitats and protect endangered species.

Had the joy of feeding an otter and baby panda before being handsomely fed myself.

Big day in Beijing.

2008-09-18T02:33:00.000+01:00

Olympics minister - Tessa Jowell - is celebrating her birthday. Just handed her a large bunch of roses and a chocolate mousse cake. Also picked up a new suit from a Chinese tailor for my big moment tonight. Don't want any suggestions that I'm scruffy this time when I wave the flag.

Met some of the athletes for lunch. Exceptional people. All seemed pleased with the facilities here - particularly the athetes village. Considering the high demands on them their own requirements seem modest - good food, effective transport and comfortable accomodation.

This will be my second Olympic performance, but taking no chances. Just had a full dress rehearsal in the Bird's Nest stadium. Pretty straightforward without an audience but I know it'll feel very different when I take the flag for real tonight.

An unexpected cure for jetlag

2008-09-17T06:38:00.000+01:00

Just found the cure for jetlag. It's wheelchair basketball. An overnight flight and a string of high level meetings was taking its toll when I managed to squeeze in to observe a fierce battle between the Paralympics GB team and the USA. Rarely do you see such dexterity, versatility and aggression on such open display. As a former rugby player I watched in awe.

I also noticed the venue was bursting with spectators - many of them youngsters in yellow polo shirts having the time of their life. Some of the lessons I took from the games in August have clearly already been taken on by Beijing.

The atmosphere is more relaxed and easy going. They have worked out ways of filling empty seats. And hanging around in the park has become an attractive option for thousands here. If they can learn that quickly we must surely be capable of an awesome Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012.

Back in Beijing for the Paralympics

2008-09-16T21:23:00.000+01:00

The flags look similar. But the posters have changed. Giant murals are now draped from mid-sized skyscrapers in Central Beijing, heralding a new generation of sporting heroes.

I smile as I spot a ping pong bat, then slide my gaze down the wall to the wheelchair. You could easily overlook it and it's hard to think of the elite athlete drawing my attention as disabled. It's a similar story in the papers and on the TV. The images are iconic, heroic, cool, and cutting edge - not the first words that you associate with public images of disabled people in China, the UK - or most of the world, to be honest.

These Games, I'm told, have transformed perceptions of Paralympians in China and the authorities have used the opportunity to invest in major practical improvements for them too. Every underground station, for instance, is now officially accessible. I have high hopes for London in 2012 but I realise there's a huge challenge too if we're to build on the achievements of Beijing.

Promoting London in China

2008-08-26T07:15:00.000+01:00

Great party at London House. Loads of athletes and all the stars. Had lots of fun with Jimmy Page, Leona Lewis and David Beckham. Also met Jackie Chang on top form.

Delighted with London House and thrilled that the LDA put it together so well whille spending around 30% less than Ken Livingstone had planned.

They've also put it to extremely good commerical use. Over the last few days I've been dropping in on various brunches, lunches and dinners. Elegant people have held orderly meetings in quiet rooms away from the party goers and the press.

And today I learn that more than a hundred Chinese companies have held talks about doing business in London. Around 30 have expressed a serious interest in moving ahead.
This morning - I struck a deal with one of them. Geong makes software for online banking and trading - among other things. They recently listed on AIM and I was thrilled to hear them say how much better their experience was of our Alternative Investment Market than the other exchanges they'd looked at around the world.

Henry Tse told me in perfect English that opening an office in London is the logical next step and he's just signed a letter of intent comitting to that as he seeks to grow his business in Europe.

A London taxi is now set to drive around 12 Chinese cities seeking other opportunities. I dread to think what the fare would be, but on the basis of the last few weeks, I'm confident the customer - in this case London - will be getting a bargain.

An amazing closing ceremony

2008-08-25T10:03:00.000+01:00

What can I say?! The fireworks - I expected. Cunning choreography on massive scale would always be there. But enormous drums dangling a hundred feet above the most awesome percussion unit ever was pretty spectacular.

Then came the weird wheels and strange carnival floats that were both quaintly old fashioned and strikingly high tech. It was hard to know where to look - up or down, left or right, foreground or distance. Throughout I was terrified of missing a gem and if you missed the whole thing you really ought to make time to catch up.

I felt immense pride watching Britain's athletes taking their place. And then a heady cocktail of anticipation and mild anxiety spotting the red carpet which would take me to the centre of this pageant to receive the flag. By the standards of the overall ceremony my task was so humble, involving four swings of such stunning simplicity that I cannot claim any credit for not messing it up.

But it was nevertheless a moment of intense pride for me - pride in Team GB who had a fantabulous games, pride in the people behind their efforts, and greatest pride of all that London - my home - is now the official capital of world sport and the next Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Last night at the Beijing Olympics

2008-08-25T03:23:00.000+01:00

Glorious last night of athletics. Mesmerised by parabolic javelin throws and gravity defying high jumps. Texted with news of Olympic gold for the Harlesden boxer, James DeGale.

Sitting with David Beckham at the time, with Seb Coe on my right. Next to him - as evidence of the political unity on this one - Gordon Brown.

We did the same this morning at London House - as I hopped with my begging bowl from one business brunch to another.

The father of Chinese venture capitalism has just given me a tie. Is it a hint I ask, noting that I'm one of the only people around the table not wearing one.

Who knows? My mission here is to tempt them to bring their huge wedges of cash to London. Our city is the global capital of finance, but I've been constantly reminded over the last few days that the Chinese do capitalism extremely well.

They also do Olympics very well and as I psych myself up to take the flag at the closing ceremony tonight I'm intensely conscious of the challenge ahead.

'The podium will grow up overnight'

2008-08-24T00:10:00.000+01:00

'The podium will grow up overnight'

So says the charming man walking me through the final ceremony. He was referring to the sweet spot in the Bird's Nest where I will humbly receive the Olympic flag.

I have rehearsed it many times in my head. But today I got shown in detail what to expect on the ground.

Before any public performance, I'll be shaking hands with the four most senior politicians in China. Pondering that I bumped into Diego Maradonna - big smiles all round. Had a jog on the track just to imagine what that would feel like.

And then - two top tips on waving the flag. Opening it, or unfurling it properly is the first challenge. And its tougher than you think. Then I'm told to ensure I show my face as I wave it four times.

What's needed they tell me here is to show the world our confidence. That - in front of billions of people and the finest physical specimens of our times, will be tough indeed - but I also can't wait!

London 2012 - building on Beijing

2008-08-23T20:29:00.000+01:00

Intimacy. That's how London can build on Beijing.

Everyone has their particular passion, but everyone also asks how London can possibly match what we've witnessed here in China.

The honest answer is that it will be hard. In terms of scale, I dare say its impossible, but as I see it, that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Stratford is more compact and I'd generally really like to see a more intimate feel to the whole exercise than we've witnessed here. Also noticed a significant number of empty seats which we must avoid in 2012 as the world's best have a right to expect a capacity crowd to perform to.

Determined that Londoners who are paying extra for these games and particularly our kids get to witness this spectacle.

Let's also make sure that corporate sponsors rsvp their intentions - so any unwanted tickets are passed on. And when those who have taken their tickets vacate their seats, let's ensure they - again - are reallocated to those who'll enjoy and appreciate the sport as much as I do.

A busy day

2008-08-23T07:57:00.000+01:00

Toured the Olympic Village with Simon Clegg, Chief Executive of the British Olympic Association and Ben Hunt Davies, a rowing gold medallist from Sydney 2000.

Gave opening address at a reception to discuss making London the top spot for major sporting events where I promised to do all I can to help London win the right to stage the Rugby World Cup in 2015.

Briefed several journalists at the London House.

Attended the boxing semi-finals to watch John De Gale win another medal for Team GB.
Attended a reception at the London House attended by business representatives from the Chinese creative industries sector to encourage them to set up business in London.

Tour of the Athletes' Village

2008-08-23T05:35:00.001+01:00

Dream day so far. Breakfast time tour of athletes' village. Sun shining, UK athletes smiling and facilities looking splendid.

Flags on arrival suggest we've arrived at a UN conference on birth control. And the UN are in fact handing out condoms here - advising athletes to 'play safe'.

Ben Hunt-Davies, a rowing gold in Sydney, shows me his quarters - an attractive apartment with bespoke pillows, great bathrooms, TV, fridge, wifi and a TV studio nearby.

An enormous basement runs under the entire village - more storage space than you'd ever need, doubling up as a secure bunker. The heavy doors suggest this is designed to withstand a very serious bomb - a sobering reminder we have to take security very seriously.

Oriental gardens to soothe the soul lie next to an impressive gym and 50 metre swimming pool. Those working out here are an awesome site - top of their game; the finest physical specimen in the world.

They're modest too and unnervingly well adjusted. Goldie Sayers explains calmly how she missed a medal by 38 centimeters. Ben confirms to me that she'll relive that javelin throw for ever - adding that his own worst experience of life, as well as his best was at the Olympics.

What these athletes manage is Herculean. Those of us charged with delivering 2012 in London have a huge responsibility to do them justice. They need the best facilites - to prepare for the games and inhabit when they're underway.

But the village we build them has to be attractive to others when the Games are over. The Chinese have no doubt that the flats filled by Olympians this week will be easily sold to the emerging middle class of Beijing. And if they can manage that - so should we.

At the Olympic Stadium with the Mayor of Beijing

2008-08-22T04:42:00.000+01:00

Just seen the stadium. Superb. And squeezed in just in time to see Phillips Idowu from Hackney take silver in the triple jump. Well done him.

Spotting his slot among all the a ctivities taking place in tandem wasn’t easy. And the scale, shape and structure of the stadium is wonderfully distracting.

The water cube next to the birds nest changes colour like an upright disco floor. And the Mayor of Beijing tells me it’s built from green, flexible, state of the art material with water heated geo-thermally.

Twas an interesting drive to the site. No Olympic lane on the backstreets but worth snaking slowly past red lanterns, elaborate arches and crawling cars. Only those with odd numbers on their plates are a llowed into town today - one of the elaborate traffic management measures put into place for the games. The Mayor told me he might keep it in pla ce long-term to combat the extra 1000 cars which are added to the city’s streets every day.

They’ve also suspended work at countless factories for three weeks to improve the local air quality. One thing they won’t do is introduce a congestion charge. When I suggested that to my opposite number, he told me he wouldn’t dare.

Arriving in Beijing

2008-08-21T12:14:00.000+01:00

Singled out for extra security search at Heathrow and swabbed for explosives. Must look suspicious. Or is it revenge for my opposition to a 3rd runway?

Heavily armed police at plane door - not for me but to deport an illegal immigrant. Flight fine.
Surprised to see rain on arrival. Feel very at home in Beijing airport - designed (like City Hall) by Norman Foster.

Wonderfull, warm welcome by friendly officials who escort us to a 10 course feast with the Mayor of Beijing Loads of great tips. And impressed by his sounbites - how he seeks prosperity, civility and harmony for Beijing. Also how he'd aimed for a green, high tech people's Olympics.

Not sure what the interpreter made of the phrase but noticed the smile when I said 'we take our hats off to Beijing '.