Facts about the queens relay baton
Dec 30, 2009
THE Queens Relay Baton is one of the important virtues of the Commonwealth Games. It is a unifying factor across the Commonwealth fraternity whose activities are held every four years to celebrate sport and culture.
By Usher Komugisha
THE Queens Relay Baton is one of the important virtues of the Commonwealth Games. It is a unifying factor across the Commonwealth fraternity whose activities are held every four years to celebrate sport and culture.
The relay has been a curtain raiser since 1958 when the games were held in Cardiff, Wales.
This time round, the baton left Buckingham Palace, England on October 29, 2009 and is slated to traverse the length and breadth of the Commonwealth and visit 70 nations.
Journey of 380 days
It will reach India, who are the hosts on June 25, 2010.
By the end of this long journey, the baton will have travelled for a total of 340 days and covered a distance of over 190,000 kilometres passing through the hands of thousands of many individuals over land, air, sea.
Other modes to be used to move the baton include bicycles, boats, steam train and on an elephant.
Boat trip to remotest region
The baton will visit Malta, the smallest country in the Commonwealth and the Canada the largest.
It will also travel to one of the remotest places in the Commonwealth including St. Helena, an island off the west coast of Africa, which is only accessible by boat, before reaching the Falkland Islands.
Queen to receive baton
The relay will conclude in Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, venue for opening ceremony of the XIX Commonwealth Games on October 3, 2010.
At this ceremony, the final baton bearer will hand it back to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II or her representative.
THE Queens Relay Baton is one of the important virtues of the Commonwealth Games. It is a unifying factor across the Commonwealth fraternity whose activities are held every four years to celebrate sport and culture.
The relay has been a curtain raiser since 1958 when the games were held in Cardiff, Wales.
This time round, the baton left Buckingham Palace, England on October 29, 2009 and is slated to traverse the length and breadth of the Commonwealth and visit 70 nations.
Journey of 380 days
It will reach India, who are the hosts on June 25, 2010.
By the end of this long journey, the baton will have travelled for a total of 340 days and covered a distance of over 190,000 kilometres passing through the hands of thousands of many individuals over land, air, sea.
Other modes to be used to move the baton include bicycles, boats, steam train and on an elephant.
Boat trip to remotest region
The baton will visit Malta, the smallest country in the Commonwealth and the Canada the largest.
It will also travel to one of the remotest places in the Commonwealth including St. Helena, an island off the west coast of Africa, which is only accessible by boat, before reaching the Falkland Islands.
Queen to receive baton
The relay will conclude in Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, venue for opening ceremony of the XIX Commonwealth Games on October 3, 2010.
At this ceremony, the final baton bearer will hand it back to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II or her representative.