The Queen's Baton Relay for the 2022 Commonwealth Games covered 90,000 miles and visited 72 Commonwealth nations and territories from Birmingham Airport. The journey began at Buckingham Palace on 7 October 2021 and ended in Birmingham during the opening ceremony on 28 July 2022.

This relay marked the last time under Queen Elizabeth II prior to her death on 8 September 2022.

Organisation The Relay was organised by the Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, a private company based at One Brindleyplace. The 14-strong board of directors includes Dame Louise Martin, Ellie Simmonds, OBE, Nick Timothy and Ama Agbeze, MBE.

The Queen's baton

Designed and manufactured in the West Midlands by a collaborative team including Technologist Karen Newman of Birmingham Open Media (BOM), Designers and Engineers Kelly Raymont-Osman and Tom Osman of Raymont-Osman Product Design, artist Laura Nyahuye of Maokwo, and Engineer and Modelmaker Karl Hamlin of Kajul Ltd, the baton features a platinum strand along its length to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2022. Made using the traditional method of lost-wax casting, apart from the platinum the baton has purposely been made from non-precious metals and alloys: copper, aluminium and brass to represent the gold, silver and bronze medals awarded at the games. It includes a camera, a heart-rate monitor, an atmospheric sensor and lights that change each time the baton is passed from person to person.

International route The route of the Queen's baton relay took in all Commonwealth countries and territories during a 294-day schedule.

Africa Nations & territories Dates Selected batonbearers Nigeria Abaiola Joy Jonathan, a student at Aduvie International School in Jahi, Abuja The Gambia Dawda Barry, a teenage sprinter Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio, president since 2018 Ghana Former Sunderland footballer Asamoah Gyan Cameroon Ayuk Otay Arrey Sophina, a judoka who competed at the Tokyo Olympics Kenya Faith Ogallo, a taekwondo champion and environmentalist Uganda Ritah Asiimwe, a para-badminton Olympian, and Olympic Boxer Shadir Musa Bwogi Rwanda Munezero Valentine, a member of the national volleyball team Tanzania Filbert Bayi, Olympic middle distance runner Malawi Mary Waya, whose foundation tackles local issues such as child marriage and abuse Zambia Enock Mwewa, a 22-year-old climate justice activist who co-founded Environment Savers of Zambia Mozambique Mauritius Noemi Alphonse, a para-athlete who carried the Baton around the Mahébourg waterfront Botswana Oganne Manengene, a female entrepreneur from the remote Northwest District Saint Helena Josh Herne, who lives off grid South Africa 8 to 11 December 2021 Bongiwe Msomi, netball manager and coach at the University of Johannesburg Namibia 14 & 15 December 2021 Emily James, a charity worker with Elephant Human Relations Aid (EHRA) Eswatini 17 & 18 December 2021 Thabiso Dlamini, a Swazi boxer who competed at the Tokyo Olympics Lesotho 20 & 21 December 2021 Michelle Tau, a 24-year-old taekwondo practitioner Seychelles 23 & 24 December 2021 Laurence Hoareau and Dailus Laurence, wardens of the island of Praslin

The Americas

Nations & territories Dates Selected batonbearers Belize 23 & 24 March 2022 Chris Guydis, who makes canoes by hand Guyana 26 & 27 March 2022 Walter Grant-Stuart, a firefighter and the country's first para-athlete Grenada 30 & 31 March 2022 Anderson Peters, a world champion javelin thrower, and Paralympian Ishona Charles The Bahamas 3 & 4 April 2022 Vashni 'Metro' Thompson and Austin Green, representing the Bahamian Special Olympics Turks and Caicos Islands 7 & 8 April 2022 Velma Gardiner, a community activist Cayman Islands 12 & 13 April 2022 The head boy and head girl of West End Primary School and Layman E Scott High School Jamaica 15 to 17 April 2022 Shauna-Kay Hines, who represented Jamaica in taekwondo at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Trinidad and Tobago 19 & 20 April 2022 Jehue Gordon, a champion hurdler Barbados 23 & 24 April 2022 Brianna Holder, an international netball player, and West Indies cricketer Aaliyah Alleyne Montserrat 26 & 27 April 2022 Students from Montserrat Secondary School Dominica 29 & 30 April 2022 Adicia Burton, who represents Kalinago on the National Youth Council of Dominica and plays volleyball and cricket British Virgin Islands 3 & 4 May 2022 Damir Dobson, a pupil at Francis Lettsome Primary School Saint Kitts and Nevis 6 & 7 May 2022 Kim Collins, a medal-winning sprinter at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Anguilla 9 & 10 May 2022 Ursula Connor, a 108-year-old centenarian Antigua and Barbuda 13 & 14 May 2022 Dwayne Fleming, a sprinter, and Ethan Greene, a swimmer Saint Lucia 16 & 17 May 2022 Daren Sammy, the island's first international cricketer Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 19 & 20 May 2022 Darren Morgan and Marika Baptiste, two youth athletes Bermuda 22 & 23 May 2022 Paula Wight of the Bermuda pilot gig club Canada 26 to 29 May 2022 Briana da Silva, a student athlete at McMaster University Falkland Islands 7 & 8 June 2022 Trudi Clarke, Chris Locke and Garry Tyrell, members of the islands' Lawn Bowls team

Asia Nations & territories Dates Selected batonbearers Pakistan 27 to 29 December 2021 Aqsa Dawood, a football player who represents Pakistan as a youth social ambassador for the Asian Football Federation Maldives 1 & 2 January 2022 Hashim Aboobakur, an environmental activist Sri Lanka 4 & 5 January 2022 Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala, the first Sri Lankan to summit Mount Everest Bangladesh 7 to 9 January 2022 Ruman Shana, an archer from Khulna District India 12 to 15 January 2022 Vinisha Umashankar, the teenage inventor of a mobile, solar-powered ironing cart Singapore 17 to 19 January 2022 Jen Goh, a golfer Malaysia 22 to 24 January 2022 Samuel Isaiah, a teacher at a rural school for indigenous children from the Orang Asli population Brunei 26 & 27 January 2022 A brigade of Gurkhas

Oceania

Nations & territories Dates Selected batonbearers Papua New Guinea 30 & 31 January 2022 Michael Somare Jr, son of the country's first prime minister Solomon Islands 2 & 3 February 2022 Nauru 5 & 6 February 2022 Pupils from Nauru Secondary School Fiji 13 & 14 February 2022 Rusila Nagasau and Jerry Tuwai, who captained Fiji's rugby sevens teams at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Samoa 16 & 17 February 2022 Feagaiga Stowers, 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist. Tonga 19 & 20 February 2022 Siueni Filimone and Ronald Fotofili, two track-and-field athletes Vanuatu 22 & 23 February 2022 Ati George Sokomanu, who was president from 1984 to 1989 Kiribati 25 & 26 February 2022 Martin Moreti, the minister for Women, Youth, Sports and Social Affairs in the Cabinet of Kiribati Tuvalu 28 February & 1 March 2022 The Captain Superintendent of Tuvalu Maritime School Niue 3 & 4 March 2022 Feuina Tukuitoga Viviani and other children from Niue Primary School Cook Islands 6 & 7 March 2022 Norfolk Island 9 & 10 March 2022 Pony Club member PJ Wilson riding a horse called 'Big Girl' New Zealand 12 to 15 March 2022 Alexis Pritchard, a boxer, and hockey goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex Australia 17 to 20 March 2022 Kelsey Cottrell, an international lawn bowler, and freestyle swimmer Lani Pallister

Europe Nations & territories Dates Selected batonbearers Cyprus Kyriakos Ioannou, a high jumper who won medals at two Commonwealth Games: Melbourne 2006 and Glasgow 2014 Malta Thomas Borg, a para-athlete, and Yasmin Zammit Stevens, a weightlifter Gibraltar 31 May & 1 June 2022 Members of the Gibraltar Health Authority England (1) 2 to 6 June 2022 Tom Matthews, a technician who organised a virtual relay during the COVID-19 lockdown to raise money for Mind Jersey 10 & 11 June 2022 Morag Obarska and Jean Cross, two sports volunteers at Samarès Manor Guernsey 13 & 14 June 2022 The Guernsey women's cricket team Isle of Man 16 & 17 June 2022 Bill Dale, founder of the coastal clean-up group Beach Buddies Scotland 18 to 22 June 2022 Erin Guild, a young fundraiser for people with the disease cystinosis Northern Ireland 23 to 27 June 2022 John McErlane, co-founder of the dementia charity Dementia NI Wales 29 June to 3 July 2022 Marc Falloon, an RNLI volunteer crewmember of the Holyhead lifeboats England (2) 4 to 28 July 2022 Janet Inman, a non-executive director of the Volleyball England Foundation

England National route

The baton is due to travel around London from 2–6 June 2022 and the rest of England during July. English regions Dates Selected batonbearers London (2 June: Battersea Power Station4 June: Paternoster Square5 June: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Royal Docks) 2 to 6 June 2022 Lemona Chanda, a Bangladeshi-born gender equality activist who promotes women's rights South West England (4 July: The Eden Project, Plymouth, Exeter, the Isle of Portland, Poole, Bournemouth5 July: Devizes, Bath, Bristol, Hereford, Gloucester and Cheltenham) 4 & 5 July 2022 Mark Richardson, who manages the Exeter food bank South East England (6 July: Stoke Mandeville, Maidenhead, Eton, Windsor, Aldershot, Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight7 July: Guildford, Tonbridge, Canterbury, Folkestone, Deal and Dover) 6 & 7 July 2022 Courtney Hughes, a student nursing associate who founded the Secret Santa charity in Didcot East of England (8 July: Gravesend, Tilbury, Basildon, Southend-on-Sea, Maldon, Waltham Cross, Luton and Hemel Hempstead9 July: King's Lynn, Great Yarmouth, Bury St Edmunds, Hinxton and Cambridge) 8 & 9 July 2022 Colin Jackson, a Welsh former sprinter and hurdler who also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing. East Midlands (10 July: Northampton, Corby, Rutland, Leicester, Nottingham and Lincoln11 July: Skegness, Boston, Grantham, Loughborough, Derby, Bakewell and Buxton) 10 & 11 July 2022 Shabaz Arshad, who chairs a grassroots football team in Derby Yorkshire and The Humber 12 & 13 July 2022 Zoe Barratt and Colin Lea, two charity workers in York North East England 14 & 15 July 2022 Medal-winning race-walker Johanna Atkinson North West England 16 & 17 July 2022 Tony Howarth, an ultra-marathon runner from Lytham St Anne's who volunteers for the Samaritans West Midlands 18 to 28 July 2022 Kyle Evans, a BMX rider who competes internationally Paul Darke, a Wolverhampton artist and disability rights campaigner

See also Queen's Baton Relay 2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay Official website

References