Queen's Baton Relay
The Queen's Baton Relay, similar to the Olympic Torch Relay, is a relay around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. The Baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The Relay traditionally begins at Buckingham Palace in London as a part of the city's Commonwealth Day festivities. The Queen entrusts the baton to the first relay runner. At the Opening Ceremony of the Games, the final relay runner hands the baton back to the Queen or her representative, who reads the message aloud to officially open the Games.[1]
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History [edit]
The Relay was introduced at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales. Up until, and including, the 1994 Games, the Relay only went through England and the host nation. The Relay for the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was the first to travel to other nations of the Commonwealth. The 2002 Commonwealth Games Relay covered over 100,000 kilometres and went through 23 nations.[1]
Editions [edit]
Auckland 1990 [edit]
For the 1990 Commonwealth Games, the baton was a two-piece affair. Each piece went on its own individual relay run in the North and South Islands of New Zealand, only being joined back together in the final week before the Games began.
Victoria 1994 [edit]
For the 1994 Commonwealth Games, the Baton was fashioned from sterling silver and was engraved with traditional symbols of the creative artists' families and cultures, including a wolf, a raven and an eagle with a frog in its mouth.
Kuala Lumpur 1998 [edit]
For the 1998 Commonwealth Games, Malaysia placed their own flavour on the Games, with the Queen’s Baton being carried into the stadium on an elephant. The baton was presented to Prince Edward by Malaysia’s first ever Commonwealth medal winner Koh Eng Tong, a gold medallist in weightlifting in 1950. The Baton design was inspired by a traditional Malay artifact, the 'Gobek', which is a unique cylindrical areca nut-pounder widely used and displayed in Malay homes.
Manchester 2002 [edit]
For the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the baton had special significance as it marked the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen and was designed to symbolise the uniqueness of the individual and the common rhythm of humanity.
Melbourne 2006 [edit]
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The Melbourne 2006 Queen's Baton Relay was the world's longest, most inclusive relay, travelling more than 180,000 kilometres and visiting all 71 nations that then sent teams to the Commonwealth Games[2] in one year and a day. The Queen's Baton Relay started, as it traditionally does, at Buckingham Palace and ended in Melbourne, Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It carried a message from the Queen to the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.
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Baton Relay pin badge
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Queen's Baton Relay, Kings Park Western Australia 11 February 2006.
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Queen's Baton Relay, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, 24 February 2006
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Baton Relay logo
About the Baton [edit]
The baton contained 71 lights on the front, representing the 71 member nations of the Commonwealth Games Federation. A video camera built into the front of the baton recorded continuously as the baton travelled, and a GPS tracker was fitted, so that the baton's location could be viewed live on the Commonwealth Games Website.
The 2010 Queen's Baton was built from Aluminium, Gold with a 18 Carat gold leaf carrying the Queen's message. [1]
Delhi 2010 [edit]
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2010 Commonwealth Games |
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The relay began as the Baton left Buckingham Palace on 29 October 2009, travelling throughout the 70 nations of the Commonweatlh, reaching India on 25 June 2010 by crossing through Wagah from Pakistan.[3] the baton was designed by Michael Foley, a graduate of the National Institute of Design. Made from aluminium twisted into a helix, it was coated with soils from the various regions of India, and held the Queen's message (printed on a 18 carat gold leaf, representing gold's qualities and symbolism of power in India) within a jeweled box.[4]
The baton also incorporated a video camera and microphone, LED lighting (which set its color scheme to match the flag of the nation it was travelling through), and GPS tracking.
Final Baton Runners [edit]
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See also [edit]
Notes and references [edit]
- ^ a b "Queen's Baton Relay: The tradition continues...". Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Corporation. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
- ^ At that time, the Commonwealth of Nations had 53 members (the current total is 54 after Rwanda's entry in 2009). However, the four Home Nations send separate teams to the Commonwealth Games, as do individual British Crown Dependencies, several British overseas territories, the Australian external territory of Norfolk Island, and two non-sovereign states in free association with New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Niue.
- ^ CWG 2010 Queen's baton arrives in India CWG 2010 Queen's baton arrives in India
- ^ Relay baton depicts India's diverse culture & tradition - The Times of India
External links [edit]
- Official website of 2010 Queen's Baton Relay
- Official website of 2006 Queen's Baton Relay
- Queen's Baton Relay on New Zealand Commonwealth Games website
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