The design for the Queen’s Baton, which will travel around the world including Bermuda prior to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, has been revealed along with the route it will take.
A distinctive loop design will be the focal point of the Queen’s Baton Relay, a Games tradition that celebrates "the Commonwealth’s diversity, inspires community pride and excites people about the world-class festival of sports and culture to come".
Both announcements come with organizers celebrating 500 days to go before the Games get underway in Australia.
Made using macadamia wood and recycled plastic sourced from Gold Coast waterways, the baton’s design has been inspired by the region’s "vibrant spirit and indigenous heritage" and with sustainability in mind.
The Queen’s baton will also carry a personal message to the athletes of the Commonwealth from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The Relay will begin on March 13, 2017, when The Queen will place her message to the Commonwealth inside the baton.
It will then begin a 388 day and 230,000 kilometre journey from Buckingham Palace in London to the Opening Ceremony of the Games, where the message will be removed from the baton and read aloud by Her Majesty or a representative.
The Baton Relay has been the traditional curtain-raiser to every Commonwealth Games since the Cardiff 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, but the 2018 edition will be the longest and the "most accessible" in Commonwealth history.
For the first time, it will be present at the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) in Nassau in The Bahamas between July 19th and 23rd next year, which is hoped will "engage and inspire today’s youth".
The Baton will make it’s way to Bermuda July 24th - 27th.
Sixty per cent of Commonwealth citizens are less than 30-years-old.
From London, the baton will travel through Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Oceania, spending between two and four days in each Commonwealth nation and territory.
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