London: The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, joined "Team London Ambassadors" for the first public unveiling of the eye-catching uniforms they will wear when they welcome the world for the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer.

The mayor, who met with 30 members of his 8,000 strong volunteer army at Wimbledon station in south London Friday, also wore the brightly coloured purple uniform which was described by himself as "quintessentially British". The unveiled uniform includes a polo t-shirt, trousers, jacket, bag and also a classic trilby hat.

Team London Ambassadors are the 8,000 dedicated and knowledgeable volunteers who come from a range of backgrounds and communities and will volunteer for a maximum of five hours per shift and up to six consecutive days.

Around London at 43 visitor locations including landmarks, visitor hot spots, travel hubs and big screen live sites, they will, during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, provide advice and guidance to visitors.

"With their purple shirts and quintessentially British trilby hats there can be no doubt that our Team London Ambassadors will be a highly visible presence during the Games. These volunteers have come on a fantastic journey since we launched the quest to recruit our volunteer army and I am really proud of the public-spirited people we have on board," Boris Johnson was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

The volunteers, from across London and beyond, have been through a rigorous selection process which saw more than 30,000 people apply.

Aged between 14 and 85, and speaking over 40 languages from Albanian to Vietnamese, they will help visitors to London.

IANS