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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP / BCN) ― Roughly 80 people will carry the Olympic torch at some point during its six-mile stretch in San Francisco next Wednesday.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom unveiled the list Friday, which includes participants from Canada and Mexico, though a majority of the torchbearers are from the Bay Area.

About half of the torchbearers were picked by the Olympic officials, though some were picked by sponsors, and others had submitted online essays on why they wanted to run and what it meant to them.

"I'm not fearful at all," declared 29-year old Lisa Hartmayer, a UCSF Medical Center nurse who plans to carry the torch, despite the controversy surrounding the Beijing games. "I have faith in the peace officers and I'm not concerned at all, I really am not. I never really thought about it, maybe I'm a little bit too trusting."

Hartmeyer is not alone. Many of those chosen to carry the Beijing-bound Olympic flame through the city said they welcome the torch as well as the protesters who object to it.

Dozens of groups are preparing to protest the Chinese government during the flame's visit. But torchbearers said they are as proud of their city's reputation as a global player with deep ties to Asia as its tradition of political activism.

Running the torch through a gauntlet of demonstrators raising issues from Chinese rule in Tibet to its trade with oppressive regimes of Myanmar and Sudan is part of the San Francisco experience, they said.

"The protests are justified and appropriate it's cool that they're happening," said Todd Hallenbeck, 25, with the Pacific States Marine Fishing Commission. "But it doesn't change how I feel about the honor of bearing the torch."

Ever since the torch was lit in Olympia, Greece, and carried around the world, it has been a flashpoint for protesters. The lighting ceremony was marred by a demonstrator who ran up behind a Chinese official. In Istanbul, Turkey, six Uighur Muslims an ethnic minority in China were detained after they rushed up to a torchbearer shouting slogans.

But those carrying the flame in its only North American stop said they aren't concerned about their personal safety.

"The protesters, if they resort to violence, would belittle any message they're trying to carry," said torchbearer John Caldera, an American Legion commander and longtime AIDS survivor.

Officials said the city plans to support all peaceful messages expressed at the relay.

"It's the ultimate affirmation of what makes this city and this country so great," said Mayor Newsom. "We have the right to free expression all of us as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights of others."

Hartmayer agreed with the mayor.

"This is an amazing city where people can voice their opinions," said Hartmayer, another designated torchbearer. "Any other way, it wouldn't be right."

Newson Concerned About Security

But for his part, Newsom also candidly offered that he is concerned about security.

"The key is just to do whatever it is people want to do in a way that is respectful of other people that may disagree with them. And, that's fundamental," he told reporters.

Torchbearer Ed Lee, a city controller, seconded Newsom's thoughts and said the Olympics means bringing people together and adjusting to international turmoil.

"It's a foundation to resolve a lot of conflict in the world," Lee said about the Olympics.

The mayor used the opportunity Friday to turn the focus of the relay from China's approach to dissidents and its foreign policy back to the Olympic spirit.

"It's not the US's torch, not Beijing's torch, it's the Olympic torch, and I'm very honored" to have it stop in San Francisco, Newsom said.

The mayor pointed out that great care was taken to avoid politics in choosing 41 men and women from among more than 530 applicants. Another 39 torch bearers will be appointed by the relay's sponsors and by U.S., international and Beijing Olympic committees.

Independent of their background, torchbearers expressed their hope that the Olympics would serve to draw people and nations together.

Helen Zia, a writer and human rights activist who plans to carry the flame next week, said the games are an opportunity to engage with the world. "The worst outcome would be for China to be pushed back into isolation, instead of engaged," she said.

Former Olympian Marilyn King, an Oakland resident who will be part of the torch relay, said much of the media focus has been on protestors who oppose the Olympics because of China's treatment of Tibetans.

She said that as a peace activist she hopes the Olympics "shine a light" on human rights abuses and inequities, but that any boycott of the games should be economic and political, not a boycott of the games itself.

The athletes who have spent years training should not be denied the right to compete, said King, who did the pentathlon in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and was part of the 1980 team that boycotted the Moscow Olympics.

Thousands Of Protesters Expected

For the past few weeks, protesters have been outside San Francisco City Hall, opposing the torch's arrival and calling for international support for human rights in Tibet, Burma and Darfur and for Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 protesters from the local Tibetan community are expected to attend the torch relay, said Giovanni Vassallo, president of the Committee of 100 for Tibet, one of five groups that are coming together for the protest.

Vassallo said the coalition has obtained permits for three city park squares, including Ferry Park, which is adjacent to where the closing ceremony of the torch relay will be held. He also said protesters are expected to line the torch route.

California Highway Patrol officers and members of the San Francisco Sheriff's Department will join city police in ensuring that the event goes smoothly.

Newsom encouraged everyone attending the relay of the torch to respect others' viewpoints and their freedom of expression.

"There are many points of view, and no matter what you believe the torchbearers deserve credit and respect," Newsom said. No one should have their rights or beliefs impinged on by others, he added.

The relay is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Wednesday with an opening ceremony at McCovey Cove. The route will then proceed north to Third Street, the Embarcadero, Jefferson Street, Hyde Street, Beach Street, Polk Street, Bay Street and back to the Embarcadero for a concluding ceremony at Justin Herman Plaza.

"I am proud that San Francisco was chosen," as the North American representative for the Olympic torch relay, Newsom said. "It (the torch relay) not only celebrates the Olympics, but it celebrates freedom of expression, which is the ultimate affirmation of what makes this city and country so great."

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