LONDON -- London's eccentric mayor has provided comic relief to Olympic audiences once again, this time by getting stuck on a zip wire.

Boris Johnson was seen dangling in midair briefly when he joined the crowds at an open-air viewing site at east London's Victoria Park.

Photographs of the mayor, dressed in a suit and clutching two Union Jack flags while dangling on the wire, quickly spread on online social media networks like Twitter.

A spokeswoman at his office chuckled about Wednesday's mishap and said Johnson was doing fine.

A statement from his office said: "Fortunately, the Mayor survived his first zip wire experience."

It added: "Unlike Team GB, he won't be bagging any gold medals today but he remains unbowed."

Associated Press