The city of San Francisco has made public the Beijing Olympic torch route which will travel about 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) along San Francisco's waterfront, it was reported on Wednesday.

In discussing the details of the route, mayor Garvin Newsom asked activist groups 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," according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

City leaders, including Newsom, have expressed concerns over the past few weeks that releasing details of the torch route would jeopardize security of the event by encouraging people who want to disrupt or stop the relay.

The torch relay will start with a ceremony at McCovey Cove, travel along the Embarcadero past Fisherman's Wharf and briefly through the Marina District, and head back along the Embarcadero to Justin Herman Plaza. A closing ceremony is scheduled to take place at the plaza.

The event will start at 1 PM, and it will take the torch about an hour and a half to traverse the route. More than 80 people from across North America have been selected to carry the flame. Their names have not been made known.

(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2008)