Boris Johnson visits Seoul Olympics site

(GETTY IMAGES)

London Mayor Boris Johnson says a tour of the Seoul Olympic sites have given him good ideas on how to build venues that will have a lasting legacy long after the 2012 Games.

Johnson singled out the 1988 Olympic Village as an "amazing" example of how to sell apartments in advance to help raise money for the site.

The British government has had to dip into a contingency fund to help build the Olympic Village because of a lack of private financing during the economic recession.

Johnson praised the sculpture garden, parks, glades and waterside features at the 1988 Olympics site in southeastern Seoul. Johnson says he also watched hundreds going for a swim in the Olympic Games pool today.

London's 85,000-seat Olympic stadium is to be converted into a 25,000-seat arena after the 2012 Games are over.

Johnson is in Seoul as part of the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit, which begins tomorrow.