Boris Johnson backs Global Day of Prayer

The London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has come out in support of the Global Day of Prayer. The initiative is a capital-wide prayer event to be held on Pentecost Sunday. All of London’s 33 boroughs are taking part. This year local and civic leaders plan to come together in prayer. A video message from Boris Johnson will be shown at each prayer meeting.

Source: Christian Today (20/5)

Chinese ridicule London's part in Olympic Closing Ceremony

Chinese press and bloggers have been less than favourable about London's contribution to Beijing's Olympic closing ceremony – criticising contributions from the London Mayor Boris Johnson and David Beckham.

As the torch was put out in the "Bird's Nest" stadium, one blogger described Mr Johnson as "arrogant, rude and disrespectful" when he accepted the Olympic flag. There were mixed opinions too about the eight-minute cameo performance featuring a London bus, Beckham, the singer Leona Lewis, Led Zeppelin's guitarist Jimmy Page, dancers and singers.

The Titan Sports Daily contrasted the "neatness" of the Chinese performers with the "outrageous outfits" worn by the Britons. Unlike the Chinese custom which tends not to reveal their weakness to the outsiders, "the British seem to like to laugh about their stupidity in a funny way", it said.

"During the performance, when the London bus pulled over, all the passengers waiting for the bus rushed into the door at the same time, which truly damaged the British image," it added. In the run-up to the Games, Beijing officials had run a campaign to "civilise" the city's inhabitants, teaching them of the importance of queuing in Western culture.

It also complained that Lewis and Page were not A-list celebrities. "Unfortunately, the singer and Jimmy Page are absolutely not famous enough to be known or recognised by millions of the Chinese audiences. As for David Beckham, he was supposed to kick the football towards the red circle in the centre of the 'Bird's Nest'. In the end, just like any of his penalties at a football match, he totally missed it. He kicked the ball to the left and it dropped in the crowd, then was picked up by a lucky Chinese volunteer who would not let go of the ball."

The Daily First praised the use of a red London bus, but questioned whether the performance had anything to do with sport or the Olympic Games. Mr Johnson was also criticised for accepting the Olympic flag with one hand only."

Source: The Independent 17/08/08


I must confess that I myself was very disappointed with the 8 minutes British welcome to the Olympic Games of 2012, though not entirely for the reasons given in this article. I thought that Boris Johnson receiving the Olympic flag with one hand was a sign of his strength, much as the commentators praised Chris Hoy when he managed to carry the British flag in one hand briefly during the opening parade. The London bus was a good symbol to use for London and George Beckham symbolised British sport, while the umbrellas were a sign of British weather. However, I couldn't see that any of the rest had any real meaning as an advert for Britain and I certainly couldn't see the whole 8 minute presentation as a compelling invitation/reason to visit Britain in 2012. It was an opportunity missed as far as I was concerned. What did you think?

'Christian and Evangelical Groups Often Ignored and Derided'

I have been reading on several blogs of the dismay some Christians are feeling at the recent election of Conservative Boris Johnson as the new Mayor of London. Perhaps this comment posted by Matt Cresswell on 7th May on ReligiousIntelligence.com will bring a little comfort to these bloggers, but time will tell how much the new Mayor uses these sentiments in the governing of London.


"BORIS JOHNSON, the new Mayor of London, has claimed that evangelical faith communities are being shunned in modern society.

In an interview with ReligiousIntelligence.com, he said that the good work done by many Christian and evangelical groups is often just ignored and derided. “I think there is a culture now in our society where if something is even vaguely Christian, if there is a whiff of evangelical fervour about it then it’s almost somehow verboten to fund it,” he told the paper at a hustings event in the lead-up to the election.

He continued: “I think that’s quite wrong because if you look at the good that these groups do and you look at the way we’re going to transform society and undo the breakdown that we’ve seen in family life, the growing-up of kids without boundaries and all the rest of the things we’ve been talking about in this campaign, the Christian groups are essential.”

He also told us that he wanted to be a “mayor who campaigns for all Londoners and Londoners of all faiths”.

He added that he would not be campaigning for a “narrow Christian agenda” but did believe that his message was “appealing to Christians”. He also noted the good works done by the growing faith-based voluntary sector. “Everywhere I go in London -- and I go to boxing clubs, reading groups, Ray Lewis’ Eastside young leaders -- I see people who have faith who are transforming kids, steering them away from crime.”

Johnson was baptised a Catholic but admits he has a fluctuating faith. “I suppose my own [faith] is a bit like trying to get Virgin Radio when you’re driving through the Chilterns. It sort of comes and goes.” He added: “Sometimes the signal is strong and then sometimes, I’m afraid, it just vanishes. And then it comes back again. That’s where I am.”

Johnson beat his main opponent Ken Livingstone in the London mayoral race by 139,772 votes last week. The result completed a victorious day for the Conservative party in an election which saw the greatest Labour losses countrywide in 40 years. Johnson is now viewed by critics as the most powerful Conservative politician in Britain today.

He has promised to work “flat out” to fulfil his electoral promises. He has so far spoken of a tough approach to crime and has signalled the go-ahead for weekend boot camps for troubled teenagers."

Source: ReligiousIntelligence.com