The Queen’s Baton will stop in Australia on its epic journey around the Commonwealth, commencing from Buckingham Palace early next month.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will send the Queen’s Baton on an epic journey across the Commonwealth commencing next month, with the Baton containing the Queen’s message visiting all 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth, reaching Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean and the Americas.
The Queen’s Baton leaves Buckingham Palace on Thursday 7 October and is due in Australia in March 2022, with a four-day visit planned between 17-20 March. The exact locations and activities of the Australian visit will be released closer to the date.
The baton will travel for 294 days, connecting communities in every corner of the Commonwealth, embracing unique cultures and sharing stories before the Queen’s message will be opened and read at the Opening Ceremony of the Birmingham 2022 Games on 28 July 2022.
The international route spans 269 days, spending between two and four days in each nation or territory, covering approximately 140,000 kilometres, with over 7,500 Batonbearers to carry the baton in their community.
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Flying out from Birmingham International Airport, the first stop is Cyprus on 9 October, shortly followed by Malta on 12 October.
Over the course of the relay, the baton will spend Christmas Eve in the Seychelles, will bring in the New Year in the Maldives and will be in Jamaica over the Easter weekend.
The full route can be found here: https://www.birmingham2022.com/queens-baton-relay/route/
New Zealand will host the baton on Commonwealth Day (14 March) during a visit from 12 until 15 March, before four days in Australia.
The relay will culminate across the UK with five days in Scotland, four in Northern Ireland, five in Wales and 25 days covering the length and breadth of England before the 2022 Opening Ceremony where the final Batonbearer will return the Baton to Her Majesty The Queen.
The announcement coincides with the unveiling of the unique baton, which champions the individuality in humanity and celebrates bringing people together. It embodies the idea that every individual has distinctive lived experiences that are threaded together and woven into a collective tapestry of cultures. The baton form is entwined with unique components and displays connectivity to represent the power of collaboration.
The baton has been specially created by designers and technologists from the West Midlands in a unique collaboration that fuses science, technology, engineering and art.
https://www.birmingham2022.com/queens-baton-relay/baton/
The shape of the baton moves away from the traditional shape seen in previous editions of The Queen’s Baton. With Birmingham 2022 making history by being the first major multi-sport event to award more medals to women than men, the strength and fortitude of women across the Commonwealth is celebrated throughout the design of the baton.
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will take place from 28 July to 8 August 2022.
