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 Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a Symbol of the Olympic Games. The Commonwealth Games is a multinational Multi-sport event. Held every four years it involves the elite athletes of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, currently Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II The Relay traditionally begins at Buckingham Palace in London as a part of the city's Commonwealth Day festivities. Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations held on the second Monday in March and marked by a multi-faith service in Westminster Abbey 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
The Relay was introduced at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales. The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Cardiff, south Wales July 18-26 1958 Cardiff ( 'kɑːdɪf) is the Capital and the largest city and county in Wales. Through the 1994 Games, the Relay only went through England and the host nation. The 1994 Commonwealth Games were held from 18 August to 28 August 1994 in Victoria British Columbia, Canada. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Relay for the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was the first to travel to other nations of the Commonwealth. The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian Kuala Lumpur (ˈkwɑːləlʊmˈpʊər Malay /kwɑlɑlʊmpʊ/ and locally /kwɑləlʊmpɔ/ or even /kɔlɔmpɔ/ or often abbreviated as K For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and The 2002 Relay covered over 100,000 kilometres and went through 23 nations. The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002 [1]
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 1994
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
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. Koh Eng Tong (1921-2006 was one of Malaysia's pioneer and foremost professional photographer and founder of Eng Tong System Sdn
About the Baton
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
The baton has special significance as it marks 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
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 send teams to the Commonwealth Games[2] in one year and a day. A relay is an electrical Switch that opens and closes under the control of another Electrical circuit. The Queen's Baton Relay started, as it traditionally does, at Buckingham Palace and ended in Melbourne, Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. It carried a message from the Queen to the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II The Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games was held on March 15, 2006 at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Victoria The Commonwealth Games is a multinational Multi-sport event. Held every four years it involves the elite athletes of the Commonwealth of Nations.
 Baton Relay pin badge |
 Queen's Baton Relay, Kings Park Western Australia February 11, 2006. Kings Park is a park located on the western edge of Perth, Western Australia Central business district. Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. |
 Queen's Baton Relay, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, February 24, 2006 |
About the Baton
The baton contained 71 lights on the front, representing the 71 member nations of the Commonwealth Games Federation. Wagga Wagga 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. Basic concept of GPS operation A GPS receiver calculates its position by carefully timing the signals sent by the constellation of GPS Satellites high above the Earth
Final Baton Runners
- Auckland 1990 - Peter Snell. The 1990 Commonwealth Games were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January-3 February 1990 Peter George Snell DCNZM, OBE (born December 17 1938 in Opunake) is a former New Zealand athlete
- Kuala Lumpur 1998 - Koh Eng Tong. The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian Koh Eng Tong (1921-2006 was one of Malaysia's pioneer and foremost professional photographer and founder of Eng Tong System Sdn
- Manchester 2002 - Premiership footballer David Beckham & Kirsty Howard. The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002 David Robert Joseph Beckham, and is also a member of the England national team. Kirsty Howard (born September 20, 1995) is a British girl most notable for her charity work
- Melbourne 2006 - John Landy, Governor of Victoria. The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006 John Michael Landy AC, CVO, MBE (born April 12 1930 is a former track athlete and was the 26th Governor of Victoria The Governor of Victoria is the representative in the Australian state of Victoria of Australia's monarch Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia
See also
Notes and references
- ^ a b Queen's Baton Relay: The tradition continues.... The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a Symbol of the Olympic Games. Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-02-15. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 590 - Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor
- ^ The Commonwealth of Nations has 53 members. 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. "Home nation" (common noun redirects here home nation is also used to refer to the host country of Multi-sport events (eg The Crown Dependencies are possessions of The Crown in Right of the United Kingdom, as opposed to overseas territories or colonies of the United Norfolk Island ( Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen) is a small inhabited island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand The Cook Islands ( Cook Islands Māori: Kūki 'Āirani) are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. Niue (niːˈʔuːeɪ/ /ˈnjuːeɪ in English is an Island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean.
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