Plan to bring Smithsonian museum to the Olympic Park still not a 'done deal' says Boris

Plan to bring biggest US Smithsonian Institution museum to the Olympic Park still not a 'done deal' says Boris. Credit: PA

A plan to bring America's biggest museum to the Olympic Park is still not a done deal, Boris Johnson has admitted.

The mayor is in negotiations with the Smithsonian Institution about opening its first overseas 'outpost'.

He had a further meeting with officials at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum during a visit to Washington.

The mayor was shown the world's very first aeroplane, flown by the pioneering Wright Brothers, and spacecraft from the Apollo missions.

He hopes the Smithsonian will open a museum in the proposed Olympicopolis cultural quarter next to the Aquatics Centre.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson beside a Saturn 5 rocket as he visits the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. Credit: PA

But the mayor conceded the negotiations were at an early stage and it could be 2021 before the Stratford museum opens.