Baton-wielding police kept thousands of demonstrators away from the Beijing Olympics flame on its only stop in the United States on its chaotic world tour. In contrast to the trouble seen at the Paris and London relays, there was no major violence at relay but organizers changed the route in a bid to wrong-foot protesters around San Francisco. Within seconds of the start of the official parade the first runner had disappeared into a dockside warehouse. The relay then took a shorter route through the city before the torch arrived at San Francisco International Airport for the official closing ceremony.