Wednesday, London Mayor Boris Johnson took a trip down a zip wire in London’s Victoria Park carrying two Union Jack flags in celebration of the 2012 Olympics. During his descent, however, the wire lost momentum and Johnson got stuck 150 feet in the air above a crowd of on-lookers.
One witness Lee Medcalf told the BBC, “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 a odd Christmas decoration for about five to ten minutes.”
Photographs circulated around the Internet rapidly. Telegraph reports that hundreds of people called the first of these photographs “the best photograph of the Olympics so far.”
The incident has gone viral on Twitter. Twitter users created the hashtag #dangleboris, which has already been made into a meme. A group known as BHH London Barn Crew created a blog that exclusively features #dangleboris images.
While dangling in the air, Johnson remained in good spirits. In a video of the incident Johnson can be heard calmly shouting, “Get me a rope, get me ladder. I think the brakes got stuck.”
Prime Minister David Cameron praised Johnson’s ability to remain calm in that situation.
“If any other politician got stuck on a zip wire it would disastrous. With Boris, it’s a triumph. London is lucky to have him,” Cameron told the BBC.