SF leaders, community groups glam up city to wow visitors for APEC summit

BySuzanne Phan KGO logo

Saturday, November 11, 2023

SF glams up city to wow visitors for APEC summit

Just in time for the APEC summit, city leaders are sprucing up San Francisco.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Just in time for the APEC summit, city leaders are sprucing up San Francisco.

From Chinatown to the Embarcadero to City Hall, all sorts of arrangements have been made to wow and welcome visitors.

San Francisco, get ready to wow the world.

Illuminate, the nonprofit famous for lighting up the City by the Bay, is about to do it again on Monday night.

"During APEC, we are actually going to double the number of lasers -- from six to 12 -- that go down Market Street," said Ben Davis, founder and chief visionary officer of Illuminate.

So, for the 21 heads of state that will be in San Francisco, the diplomatic corps and the 1,000 CEOs, Davis says get ready to be dazzled.

"And let our city continue to shine in the eyes of the world as a place of high culture and innovation," Davis said.

At the Ferry Building, visitors and locals alike can delight in the new and improved clock tower. After months of renovation, the scaffolding has been removed.

And, down by Pier 39, a sight is catching the eye of tourists like Anya Ustinova visiting from Vancouver, Canada.

"I like it. I think it's totally worth it," Ustinova said.

The ferris wheel that was at Golden Gate Park is now at the Waterfront area.

"I did love seeing it there. I love seeing it here too. If it stays in the city, we'll go wherever it goes," said Dave Dinaburg of San Francisco.

Across town at the War Memorial Opera House, these banners are welcoming APEC attendees.

And in Chinatown San Francisco, merchants and food vendors are ready to kick off a series of events.

Friday and Saturday night, dozens of vendors will be on Grant Avenue for the special night market.

"We are going to have mainly food. Tasty food. Chinatown has lot of food," said Lily Lo, co-founder of BeChinatown. "We want them to come and explore. Because this is the biggest Chinatown out of Asia."

Also, be sure to check out the hundreds of lanterns during the evening along Grant Avenue. Many of them were just replaced.

"Walk through it at night. It's beautiful," Lo said.

Just for APEC, another special treat for Chinatown visitors.

A beloved 150-foot golden dragon will be brought outside onto the streets of Grant for people to see up close and personal.

The dragon that is so well-known during the spectacular Chinese Lunar New Year parade is up for public display starting Saturday morning on in the 700 block of Grant Avenue.

"We are going to display it on the street. So people can actually come and see it and touch it," said Tony Lau with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

So many sights around the city to take note of and appreciate -- whether you are an APEC attendee or a local.

"It's always beautiful. It's going to stay beautiful," Dinaburg said.

RELATED APEC STORIES & VIDEOS: