San Francisco honored to host Olympic torch relay

SAN FRANCISCO, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Despite criticism for giving the green light to the Olympic torch relay, San Francisco mayor Garvin Newsom said the city takes great pride in hosting the great event.

"The Olympic torch represents the journey for excellence, and we are honored to have the opportunity to host and contribute to the Beijing Olympic Journey of Harmony," Newsom said in an interview with Xinhua days before the torch relay.

San Francisco will be sixth leg of the Olympic torch relay when the torch is handed over to the city on April 9.

The Olympic torch has come through San Francisco as part of the Squaw Valley Games 1960, Los Angeles 1984, Atlanta 1996, Salt Lake City 2002, the mayor said.

But Newsom said he saw difference in the coming relay from the previous ones because "here in San Francisco, we are on our own journey for a sustainable future".

"This is our chance to showcase how local innovation and excellence - in fitness, environmental initiatives and sustainable business practices - can be examples for the world," he said.

Newsom said in previous remarks that it was a privilege for his city being selected to host the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch relay.

He has repeatedly pleaded with those activists to remember that the Olympics are not about politics but about the performance of athletes and "the spirit of unity and the things that unite us."

About 80 torch bearers from across North America will carry the Beijing Olympic torch through San Francisco streets in a 6-mile route along the city's bay waterfront on April 9. The city is the torch's only stop in the continent as part of its worldwide relay, called "Journey of Harmony".

With iconic landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Transamerican Building and the famous Victorian houses, San Francisco is an ideal backdrop as the world looks on to the extraordinary event, according to the mayor.