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Commonwealth Games 2010 Queens Baton Relay

Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games 2010 Queen's Baton History

The commonwealth games queens’ baton relay is one of greatest custom of commonwealth games and is akin to the Olympic torch relay. The commonwealth baton relay is held prior to the beginning of the commonwealth games and ends with the opening ceremony of the commonwealth games. The baton carries a message from Queen Elizabeth II, who heads the Commonwealth of Nations. The journey of commonwealth games baton relay begins at Buckingham Palace in London. On that particular day the baton relay will be entrusted through the queen to the first relay runner. The journey ends at the opening ceremony of commonwealth games with the final relay runner handing over the baton to the queen or her appointed, whereupon the queen or her appointed representative, as the case may be, reads aloud the message and marks the beginning of the commonwealth games activities.

The commonwealth baton relay was introduced in 1958 commonwealth games as part of British Empire and Commonwealth Games held in Cardiff, Wales. Up till 1998 Commonwealth games, the relay was limited to England and the host nation. In the 1998 Commonwealth games held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the first time the baton relay toured other member nations of the commonwealth. Since then, it is a practice to take the baton through all the participating commonwealth nations.

Commonwealth Games 2010 Queen's Baton Relay

The Queens baton for 2010 commonwealth games was unveiled at a spectacular show at India Gate, New Delhi on 8th March 2009.The baton has been designed by Michael Foley. It is a triangular section of aluminum twisted into a helix shape and then coated with coloured soils collected from all regions of India giving it a black, yellow and red layer soil pattern. A jeweled box was used to house the Queen's message, which was laser-engraved onto a miniature 18 carat gold leaf – representative of the ancient Indian leaf. The baton has latest technological features with GPRS tracking and ability to capture video and sound.

2010 Commonwealth Games Baton Relay

The 2010 Commonwealth Games baton relay commenced on 29th October 2009 at Buckingham Palace, London. The baton for 2010 Commonwealth Games were handed over by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II handed to Honourable President of India, Mrs. Pratibha Patil who in turn entrusts the baton to Dr. M S Gill and Mr. Suresh Kalmadi. The first relay runner was India ace rifle shooter, Abhinav Bindra. The baton’s journey began with a relay around the queen Victoria monument.

The queen baton for 2010 commonwealth games will tour all the commonwealth member nations participating in 2010 commonwealth games with India as the last destination. In India it is expected to spend 100 days touring all the Indian states. The baton is expected to cover this historic journey in 240 days. During this journey the baton will pass through many hands and will travel through land, air and water.

CWG 2010 Queen's Baton Arrives In India

The 2010 commonwealth games baton arrives in India on 25th June 2010 through Wagah border crossing Pakistan and entering Indian State of Punjab. The 2010 commonwealth games baton relay will conclude with the final relay runner bringing it to the Queen or her representative during the opening ceremony scheduled to be held on 3rd October 2010 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, where the Queen will read her message and mark the commencement of the 2010 commonwealth games.