Her Majesty The Queen will launch the Glasgow 2014 Queen’s Baton Relay at Buckingham Palace today Wednesday (October 9th) at a public ceremony featuring Scotland’s greatest ever Commonwealth and Olympic athletes, Allan Wells MBE and Sir Chris Hoy MBE. The ceremony will be attended by Commonwealth and Games dignitaries and broadcast live on BBC One and will signal the start of a 118,000 mile journey to all Commonwealth nations and territories – including a visit to the Isle of Man in May next year. Sprint legend Allan Wells, winner of two Commonwealth golds and the 100m Olympic sprint title at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, will be the first athlete to receive the baton from The Queen and start it on its historic journey round the 71 nations and territories of the Commonwealth, calling the 4,500 athletes to Glasgow for the Games.
Sir Chris Hoy, six-time Gold Olympian, double Commonwealth Gold medallist, and UNICEF UK Ambassador, will be the baton’s special escort as it make the processional journey down the Mall, accompanied by pipers to the ceremony itself. Flags from the 71 nations and territories of the Commonwealth will be carried by children chosen by UNICEF UK, the world’s leading children’s organisation and international charity partner of the Games.
The relay will culminate at the opening ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games on July 23, 2014. The baton will arrive in the Isle of Man on May 16, 2014, from the Guernsey and Jersey legs of the relay. It will leave the Island on Monday May 19 and continue on its journey with the next stop being Northern Ireland. Details of the exact route it will take in the Isle of Man have yet to be finalised. Inside the baton will be Her Majesty’s message to the Commonwealth which will remain hidden until the opening ceremony. Juliet Holt, President of the Isle of Man Commonwealth Games Association (IoM CGA), said:
“The Queen’s Baton Relay symbolically unites citizens of the Commonwealth in a celebration of sport, diversity and peace. The distance the relay covers emphasises the sheer scale of the Commonwealth, and the magnitude of the achievements of those competitors who achieve success at the Games competing against nations and territories with a combined population of 2.2billion – almost a third of the world’s population. We look forward to next May when the Isle of Man has its chance to play a part in a truly global event.”
The team that the Isle of Man sends to Glasgow 2014 depends upon public support for fundraising events organised by the Isle of Man Commonwealth Games Association, which is a registered charity. The Association is responsible for the publicity, fundraising, travel and support for Team Isle of Man’s participation at the Commonwealth Games. A key part of the fundraising strategy in the build-up to Glasgow 2014 is the Team Isle of Man Champions initiative. A total of 10 Island businesses will be announced as Team Isle of Man Champions in the countdown to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games to help raise funds to send a strong team to the event. As Team Isle of Man Champions businesses can, for example, use the official Champions logo on all marketing material, company vehicles and on their website. Any businesses interested in becoming a Team Isle of Man Champion should contact Isle of Man Commonwealth Games Association President Juliet Holt by emailing juliet_holt@hotmail.com – or contact Association Vice-President John Knight by emailing JohnKnight@thechildrenscentre.org.im.
Photo shows the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games baton which will arrive in the Isle of Man on May 16 next year as part of The Queen’s Baton Relay.
