As a life long labour Voter, i think BoJo is brilliant. rather him looking slightly bufoonish than his predecessor.I'm more disappointed by the presence of the kareoke contest winner and Beckham managing to get his mug involved. At least Jimmy Page had a lasting effect on the cultural landscape

John, London,

Watching BoJo at the Closing, I was grinning, giggling - gosh - enjoying the Olympics first time since it started. These Games, despite the awesome scale & grandeur of China's hosting, lacked humour, spontaneity and joy. I missed the fun of the Sydney games. I hope London brings it back.

MissCC, London,

Ahh, we'll never be happy will we? Jimmy Page played the most famous riff of all time, Beckham is the most famous footballer of all time and Leona has one of the best voices around. I think BoJo is right to try and sort out this stadium fiasco though - it should be used for football and athletics.

Jon, London, UK

I can understand how individualists are frowned upon by the stuffed shirts of that communist state but we Brits are renowned for our eccentrics. All this pompus posturing over an unbuttoned jacket is soooo bourgeois - i mean, get a life already.

Paul, Stockholm,

As regards putting on a good show London can do it without throwing billions of pounds into it. Its not about money its about innovation e.g. the Tate Modern. Get ideas in through competitions, listen to the people not the bureaucrats.

Paul, Stockholm,

The lack of understanding here is the reason why the UK is no longer what it was.

Second rate and tardy, Johnson came across as clueless and classless. There is a time and place for formal, and this was it.

To not understand when, why and how, is the reason the games here will be second rate.

R.Walcott, London,

Wear your jacket how you wan't, Boris. There are lots of things the people of China don't know about the UK, like spitting openly in public as is common in China town, London.

John, London,

At this grand happy and formal occasion, it is devastating to see the unbuttoned suit, dishevelled hair, military-style salute, awkward holding of the Olympic flag, and graffiti-styled logo. I could help to ask where are the manners of the English gentlemen and gentleladies?

Xiankun Ke, Saskatoon, Canada

I hope the British cynics drive Boris across the pond so we can benefit from such a brilliant leader.

Keith Thomas, Denve, USA

What none of you understand or appreciate (Boris included) is that in China it is seen as a sign of disrespect to not do your jacket up. It would be the same as the Mayor of Beijing coming to London and spitting on the floor. The Chinese now think we are a bunch of idiots. Well done Boris!

Marcus McAdam, Guangzhou, China

Lighten up, all you moaners. The Mayor of London is a breath of fresh air. He hasn't taken the country to war on a false prospectus, he hasn't done anything bad! Although I am delighted with the performance of our athletes, it is only sport after all.

Frank Keegan, Alderley Edge,

Well done Boris. We still have a little individuality in England. What would his critics have had him do? Face Brussels and salute? Plenty of time for that in 2012 in the "Euro Stadium". It is possible to compare the slick 1936 and the rundown but heroic 1948 games but what of the background?

D.L. Stephens, York, England

Surely it is not beyond the realms of modern engineering to create the stands for the olympics starting at the outer rim of the track at a high enough level so that seating can be put on top of the track after the olympics which will reach the pitch at pitch-level?

Poppy, Toronto,

I was appalled at the way Boris presented himself at the ceremony; he looked like a fish out of water and appeared slightly uncomfortable. Very surprising considering his educational and social background - he didn't even have the grace to button his jacket! Etiquette is etiquette, full stop.

Jennifer, London, UK

Why has London suddenly become obsessed with the cost of 2012 and its eventual legacy? It is as if London doesn't now want the games. The London bid beat off competition from initially seven other cities who can still only aspire to hosting the games.So why not enjoy the build-up and the games?

Dave, Waterford City, Ireland

I like Boris, but found he could have at least tried in the handover. Shame.

D Morgan, London, UK

R. Walcott: Maybe Boris can demolish thousands of homes, pay the occupants a few hundred, then ship them off to oblivion? Maybe he can spend over $200 billion on something that will return only a fraction of the investment? Pretty Olympics don't equate to anything. Just ask any previous Olympic host

Juan, San Diego, USA

Bo Jo was a complete embarrasment. It encapsulated everything that is wrong with this country today. No pride, no respect, no clue.

London will be like Athens/Atlanta, a second rate Olympics, especially compared to the Chinese effort, which was, simply, the best games of the modern era.

R. Walcott, London,

There is no doubt in my mind that the 2012 Olympic bid was really just an ego trip for Coe, Jowell and Blair. I doubt they expected to win.

That Boris has inherited the mess is a shame as he is not best equipped to deal with an issue he probably doesn't really care a great deal about.

David, St Albans, UK

@ Bob from Liverpool: what the hell is a "first rater" if the legendary Jimmy Page is not? If the sound had been done properly, "Whole Lotta Love" would have been awesome.

David McGregor, Fitzroy, VIC, Australia

I'm not a political supporter of Boris but fair dos, he brought a welcome breath of informality, even eccentricity, to the Olympic handover, for which I say well done Boris. If he can now manage London into a successful, on budget 2012 games I will be happy to give him three hearty cheers.

John, London, England

Boris made me proud to be British and his follow up speech was truly great. At last we have an honest man in place and not some stage managed puppet directed by an army of speech writers and focus group pundits.

Simon, London,

Boris is a buffoon.... he should be a nice eccentric side-act, yes...not the hosting major of the city hosting the Olympics! To hear his pompous discourse at the GB party broadcast smacked of the usual middle-class tosh that permeates many of our failing sports. Please let Seb Coe be M/Ceremonies!!

Ben Sadow, Reading, UK

What must the world think? That we don't take ourselves too seriously; we know what we stand for; we can luagh at ourselves and we don't care for even trying to match the slick artifice of the Chinese games (spectacular though they were) - the world will witness a nation at ease with itself.

George Stothard, London, England

Let Boris be himself and he is great. Lets NOT stitch up his pockets. The best thing about Boris is that he is, well, Boris. Aren't we fed up with production line bureaucrats and politicians? From the comments here, apparently not. DONT LET THEM CHANGE YOU, BORIS !!!

Carol, Leicester, Uk

Please can someone fasten his jacket and stitch up his pockets before his next foray onto the international stage. . ?

Lynn, London, UK

Boris really is a star! Anybody that meets him never has a bad word.
That bus thing - awful. Leona Lewis. Who? How many first raters demurred before they got Jimmy Page? The dancers. Why? What must the world think?
Trevor, Warrington, Lord Coe is not the Mayor of London. Boris, mercifully, is.

Bob, Liverpool, England

All I can say is...Ping Pong coming home! :D

Gavin, Birmingham, UK

Boris Johnson looked like a grinning fatboy who thought it was all a bit of a wheeze - his embarrassing presence at the Olympics was an insult to the athletes who worked for years to get there. Seb Coe should have done that job, not a guy who couldn't run one lap of the track without collapsing.

Trevor, Warrington, England