SAN FRANCISCO: The City by the Bay will get the chance to revive the Olympic spirit as the flame begins the only North American leg of its journey today.
The relay entourage landed here early on Tuesday morning after flying from Paris.
Several San Franciscan torchbearers were vocal in denouncing attempts to disrupt the relay in London and Paris, and pro-Tibetan separatist protests in their city.
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Former Chinese Olympic swimming champion Lin Li shows the shirt whe will wear for the torch relay in San Francisco April 9, 2008. [China Daily]
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Former mayor Willie Brown Jr said: "Being chosen as one of the 80 people in San Francisco to carry the Olympic flame is like I've been chosen to be an Olympian."
Brown told China Daily it "saddens" him to "hear of any cancellations of any activities associated with the Games because of people's protests".
"That's not the way things should be," he said.
"You should have the opportunity to express yourself, but in expressing yourself, you should not prohibit anybody else from having the same opportunity.
"When you do that, you are no better than that which you are allegedly reporting."
"Ultra-marathoner" Dean Karnazes, who is of Greek heritage, says to carry the Olympic torch is a tremendous honor.
"The Olympic Movement is not the right place, nor the right form, for political protest," he said.
Karnazes last year completed 50 marathons in all 50 US states in 50 days and in 2006, was named by Time magazine as among the "100 Most Influential People in the World".
"No one is entitled to disrupt the movement of the Olympic flame. It stands for freedom and pride. It's a time for people to come together in harmony, not for confrontation."
San Francisco mayor Garvin Newsom said in an earlier interview with the Xinhua News Agency that his city would try hard to ensure its success.
"We are very honored and proud to be the only city to host the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay in North America," he said.
The relay will be "an unforgettable journey for generations to come, in particular for the Chinese Americans in this country and in the rest of the world", he said.
The torch is scheduled to stay on US soil until this evening, when it will leave for Buenos Aires via Cancun.
The US has hosted two Summer Olympics and three Winter Games. San Francisco - home to the first American Chinatown - was a US candidate for the 2016 Games bid but withdrew in November 2006.
The torch relay will cover 97,000 km and visit 21 cities on five continents before arriving on the Chinese mainland on May 4.
