If ever there was a man worthy of a grand birthday bash in San Francisco, it had to be Tony Bennett.
Hundreds of people watched as an eight-foot-tall bronze statue of Tony was unveiled outside the Fairmont Hotel, where he first sang I Left My Heart in San Francisco in 1961.
Tony, who turned 90 earlier this month, said: “I can’t get over what just happened. That’s the most beautiful statue I have ever seen. It will live in my heart forever. Thank you for being so wonderful to me. I’ll never forget this day.”
Tony looked sharp in a blue suit, but said only a few words and didn’t sing.
Mayor Ed Lee declared August 19 to be Tony Bennett Day, saying: “Tony Bennett, you’ve helped us share the magic of San Francisco around the world.”
The San Francisco Giants also honoured Tony in a pregame ceremony and the singer performed I Left My Heart in San Francisco for fans.
Tony is also getting his own ice cream flavour, created by the city’s Humphry Slocombe ice cream shop.
The delicious-sounding Duet flavour will feature vanilla ice cream swirled with limoncello sorbet and fennel biscotti to honour Tony’s Italian heritage.
