San Francisco Mayor Garvin Newsom said he expected the Beijing Olympics to be "a very successful event that can be examples for the world".

"I am very confident that the Beijing Olympics will be a very successful event that can be examples for the world," the mayor said in an interview with Xinhua days before the Olympic Torch Relay is held in San Francisco, the only stop in North America.

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 sixth leg of torch's around-the-world tour called "Journey of Harmony". The tour covers a total length of 85,000 miles.

With iconic landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Fishermen's Wharf, 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.

The mayor also congratulated the Chinese people on a successful launch of Beijing Olympic torch relay on March 31, 2008.

"San Francisco has always been proud of our strong cultural ties to China and Beijing," the mayor said.

He said 39 percent of San Francisco's residents were born in another country with 28 percent of these foreign born residents coming from China and the Chinese community in San Francisco became the largest and most vibrant in America.