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♪ >> this is the last part of our show. this is the part of the show that features lebanon, jordan.

she is wearing traditional garb from damascus. i do not know if you can tell but there is a lot of handstitched detail at the top. lena is wearing a traditional jordanian start out with handstitched work. these stars represent different countries. this dress is more of a jordanian style. this is a palestinian dress with hand importers from the top to bottom. -- embroidery from the top to bottom.

this is all handstitched. could the other models join the girls on the floor? [applause] >> let's have another round of applause for the models. thank you for participating and showing not only the diversity of our culture and region. through our clothing, it says a

lot about how diverse the arab people are. thank you all for coming out tonight. ♪ again, thank you to everyone who has helped. everyone here, let's give them a round of applause for coming out tonight. i would personally like to thank michelle from the arab film festival and bonilla and others who are not here tonight. they are the driving force behind the arab film festival.

they are in berkeley and los angeles. a round of applause for all the work they do. last but not least, paul. without his generosity and support, this event would not be happening. thank you so much, paul. [applause] he is not only a mentor to me but the example of what civic engagement can be for arab- americans. if there is anything going on in our community, he is the first one to cut a check -- not only to cut a check, but he is the first to be involved. he is a mover and shaker and successful businessman. we need to support his institution, an amazing chain of the burger chains in the area.

thank you all for coming out tonight. we do have a reception. please help yourselves. >> thank you for your sponsorship once again. we will not know who the next mayor of san francisco will be, but one thing we know, the tradition that has to continue. everyone of you has to make sure that this happens. it is an important statement for our community. please come back every year. i have not told a lot of people about this, but i will be moving to new york in february. it is important for me that this tradition continues.

it is something that did not exist for our community, something that the mayor identified, and something that needs to continue. i am happy to support this every year it is in san francisco. [applause] >> please enjoy the reception. we have the game on for your enjoyment. see you next year. ♪

. >> forgot no. 2. silver is nothing. there is no having made it and so we beat foreman. i love the competition. . >> american made has really taken it on themselves to green american cities. >> we have a new organizer for the city and county of san francisco. oh, mayor as well. yeah, that's part of the job description. yeah, mayor of san francisco. >> the city is extremely concerned about the emission of green house gasses and making

san francisco a sustainable city. >> we need to find other ways to create energy without harm to the environment and this is one source. >> we have over 2 megawatts of solar on various city buildings. we are looking at tidal power and we're beginning to look at geothermal power. >> we're on the roof of the moscone center of san francisco and we have 2500 panels that power the center. >> here we are using real energy, energy from the sun, free energy from the sun coming in right here. this converts directly into electricity. >> all these technologies cost money. they don't make economic sense. solar never made economic sense. bio fuels never made economic sense. it's when it was adopted that it started making sense.

>> some of them have challenges, that take a long time to prove out, but there's no reason that the challenge of where we will get tomorrow's energy in the united states should not produce a very, very large. >> san francisco is unique in the united states because we serve our own power needs. >> the city of san francisco is well positioned in that we are perfectly located to take advantage of any renewable category. >> we tend to be the last one to figure it all out. it's real people that are saying, enough's enough. . >> the answer is going to be in renewable. the sooner we do something about it, the easier it will be it resolve. >> we're not just talking about what a city can do, we're doing it. >> san francisco has set very aggressive goals for greening the city. >> i'm not just naively

optimistic, i am pragmatically optimistic that we >> thank you for taking the time to be here, especially on short notice. we are here to celebrate an important milestone, which began here at city hall behind me with mr. ellison. the america's cup made its way back to the city and county of san francisco. what we are celebrating is a host city agreement that we will sign a bid to hold the america's cup defense here, in 2013. as i said, we started this process in february, recognizing that it was, by no stretch of the imagination predetermined

that the city and county of san francisco would be able to host an event such as the america's cup. we were going to be asked, and we had some confidence that we would be formally asked to present a bit. it turned out, we were the only american city formally requested to submit a bid. nonetheless, we were competing with cities around the world, and eventually it came out that rome, italy, valencia, spain were potential suitors. we went through a process unlike any other process in the united states. we even brought our own music that we are celebrating here today. who's adiradio is that? i am going to get you a new song

for itunes. let me know when you are done. and there you go. we went through a long and very public process, as is appropriate for the city and county of san francisco. we heard from people who live in the city, region, state, people around the country about the importance of the america's cup, what it has meant to their personal lives, experiences, experiences with the love of sailing and the sea. we recognize this trophy is unique, the oldest international

trophy in the world. in fact, it was established at about the same time the city and county of san francisco was established. we heard stories about larry ellison's youth where he discovered that passion for sailing here in san francisco proper as well. as we went through the process, more and more people enthusiastically organized around this effort, to support this race. it was remarkable to listen to some of the public comment. i do not recall one comment in any of these committee meetings, any of the meetings at city hall, or at the port commission that were inherently negative. people had constructed criticism, but nobody said, forget it, you are wasting time. it was rather extraordinary. i know it has become a cliche,

the cute line to throw away, that unanimous consent being, not necessarily a lost art, but an anomaly, but i have never been a part of something that has brought so many diverse people and public and private sector support to go that it was involved in this bid. we expressed that to mr. ellis said. i think there is a tremendous amount of spirit and pride around being able to compete on the world stage. when san francisco is afforded that opportunity to do something that celebrates those unique values that defines this great city, people really do come together. that is what i wanted to share with everybody. we came together. unanimous support by the board of supervisors. 11-0.

amendments made up to the last minute, long negotiations through last night and this morning brought us to this point where we feel we have an extraordinary bid. a bid, we believe, will allow us to secure the cup. however, we recognize this process is by no means over. we will submit that bid. three days in advance of the stated deadline by the events committee. we will do so again with unanimous support. i want to recognize briefly the incredible work of the city family and staff. it was remarkable to see. if we all had more energy, just think about what we could be doing for other things in the

city. first, let me thank the office of workforce development, jennifer, for all her work. [applause] i do not know where she went. she is probably asleep. let me thank keary mcclellan. [applause] steve cava, but close your, in city government. -- the closer in city government. to the entire city staff. monique, how wonderful it is to have a hard-headed, pragmatic negotiator. thank you for your work. you are only as good as your

staff. what an outstanding staff she has. brent, thank you for everything that you did. what an extraordinary job you did. [applause] dennis and the city attorney's office, thank you for all the hard work he put into this, your entire team behind the scenes. and again, to the board of supervisors, in particular, president david chu and ross mirkarimi, who early on encouraged this process, that they would be there throughout, would ask tough questions, would not roll over, and were committed. they demonstrated that privately and publicly. they held strong throughout. they were great conduits' to their other colleagues and created a framework where people were created fairly and this process was made better because of their leadership and stewardship.

they supported all of their colleagues to make constructive improvements in this process. all of us are better off because of that. to each member of the board of supervisors, all of you present as well, thank you for your contribution to this effort. before i conclude, i also want to thank our host committee. we were blessed to have some early supporters, civic leaders who said they wanted to step up. they made some pretty bold commitments about personal efforts that they were going to engage in to raise private money to offset any potential general fund cost. in particular, that effort was led by mark buhl. you are right next to me!

thank you for your leadership and stewardship. everybody on that committee for their great work, the great martha colon as well, -- cohen, the event planner, we are grateful to you. the sailing community, disability community, youth sailing community that has committed themselves, all the federal and state partners, the environmental community for their partnership to fast track the ceqa process. all the folks in sacramento. now i can hold them accountable. folks in the media that were fair-minded about this, and also good critics wonder need to be tougher questions asked. we appreciate your support as well. i know i forgot others but this

has gone on too long. again, i just want to thank all of those that i have left out. here are my final thoughts. we will know by friday whether or not san francisco has secured this bid. we do not believe there is a better city for racing in the world. we talk about a natural amphitheater. valencia is wonderful, but the race is four miles off the coast. in san francisco, you cannot miss it. we will be 40, 50 feet off of our shoreline. you have christie field, fort mason, the golden gate bridge, 20 piers, high-rise commercial buildings, high-rise apartments, angel island, alcatraz, you have the entire bay area to enjoy this race.

this is a world-class city that has an of entrepreneurial spirit that we believe will bring the race here in the 21st century. this is a technologically savvy region. technology will play, that we believe, to bring the america's cup to a whole new level. reliable readings in terms of the wind, speed and direction. we will be inviting more people than ever have been invited to gauge. 7.2 million people in this region. that is three times more than the any of the three places where the race has been held. i know people always looking for a little bit more. we stretched. we believe this bid is not only

competitive but will also preserve the legacy of the america's cup. we could not be more honored by being able to bid. i want to thank larry ellison personally for that privilege. i extend our absolute support and commitment to follow through on this bid. i think the unanimous support of this court should give them great hope and expectation, that after some of us have moved on to new roles, the folks that have taken our place will be equally committed to making sure we follow through and showcase the city and this race on an international and world scene. thank you, everyone. now it is my honor to invite president david chiu to share some words with all of us. mr. president?

[applause] >> thank you, mr. mayor. i will be extremely brief because we have other items to finish in the board chamber. first of all, in sailing terms, in order for a team to win, the entire team need to be working together. i want to thank the skipper of our city, mayor newsom. all the members of his crew. i want to thank everyone on the starboard side and port side of the board of supervisors. in particular, christopher daly. you and the budget analyst raised so many issues that were important to help us figure out how we can minimize the cost to the city. as i look around this entire group, i know we are on the same vessel, that is the hms san francisco. i think this is the best been put together internationally and i look forward to this race

coming home. [applause] >> i do not know if you rehearsed that or if you just have a love of sailing. supervisor ross mirkarimi. even if you did not expect it, share some thoughts. >> my message is short and sweet. mr. allison, with all of the holiday fanfare before us, i think san francisco deserves, after what we have demonstrated over the last few months -- because no other city has been able to exemplify the coming together, especially in this rare form of consensus. being able to operate in and a regular time line, taking care of the city's business, the business of the people, and providing for the people and yourself, a great bit. we are the perfect place on planet earth to host the

america's cup. [applause] >> mark buhl? >> thank you, mayor. there is an old saying. victory has married parents and defeat is an orphan. you have heard about the board, which we are very grateful to. the mayor did an extraordinary job. i am a private citizen. working with the port authority, city attorney, mayor's office, it has been a real eye opener of the professionalism and talent that rests within the city. i want to congratulate all of those people. i see lucy, and george from my committee. lucy has a replica of the america's cup around her neck. that is how long she has been involved in this thing. we will make sure that it stays here for a long time. thank you. [applause]

>> ok. let us sign this thing. just to let you know, we have two signatures, we are looking for the third. we will sign legislation that the board just passed and then the committee that will represent the partnership with the city will also sign. that is two of the three legs of the school. we look forward in the next few days to hear back from the event authority.

[applause]