His Majesty, King Charles III, has launched the King’s Baton Relay for Glasgow 2026, marking the beginning of a 500-day journey across the 74 nations and territories of the Commonwealth.

The Baton was sent on its way earlier this morning at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace that saw His Majesty hand it on to the first baton-bearer, Sir Chris Hoy, after placing his message to the Commonwealth inside the unique museum-style design.

Hoy is an Olympic and Commonwealth Games gold medallist in cycling and was joined at the initial handover by his compatriot, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games wheelchair racer Sammi Kinghorn MBE.

The Relay will be delivered alongside the Royal Commonwealth Society and will highlight extensive efforts being made around the world to tackle the scourge of plastic in our oceans and waterways.

Representing the charity today was Kieran Healy, a volunteer who was instrumental in establishing the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics project.

For the first time, each competing nation and territory will receive their own Baton containing a word or phrase from the King’s message to be read at the Opening Ceremony on 23 July next year.

This provides an opportunity for individualised designs that celebrate the rich history and broad diversity of the Commonwealth.

Australia’s baton will be designed by Kalkadoon artist Chern’ee Sutton.

She has been a long-time collaborator with Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) since Gold Coast 2018, including our reconciliation artwork and a unity symbol that now features across Australian uniforms.

“I’m deeply honoured to be selected as the Aboriginal artist who will design the Australian baton for the 2026 Commonwealth Games,” Sutton said.

“It means that First Nations art and history will be embraced on the global stage, sharing our rich and proud culture with the Commonwealth Sport family.

“It’s a real thrill to be part of this global celebration of culture.”

The King’s Baton is scheduled to visit Australia in early 2026, with further details on how the public can engage with the experience to be announced in late 2025.

The Caribbean will be the first Commonwealth region destination for The King’s Baton Relay, with Trinidad and Tobago to start its Baton celebrations on 11 March.

Trinidad and Tobago hosted the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2023 and are set to showcase some of the legacy from hosting during their Relay activities.

Glasgow 2026 will take place on 23 July – 2 August 2026 and feature a 10-sport program concentrated across four venues within an eight-mile corridor of the city, with over 200 gold medals up for grabs across the 10 days of competition.

The Games play a pivotal role in Australia’s high-performance pathway, with 46% of Australian athletes making their international debut at the Games and more than half of Commonwealth Games medallists going on to medal at subsequent international competitions.

Australia topped the medal tally at Birmingham 2022 with 180 medals, including 67 gold, 57 silver and 56 bronze, edging out England who claimed a total of 176 medals and 57 gold.

The Australian Commonwealth Games Team aspires to be the number one nation in terms of gold medals won, overall medals won, medallists, and the number of sports winning medals at the Games.