The

Queen's Baton Relay The King's Baton Relay is a relay around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. The baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, currently King Charles III. The relay traditionally begins at Buckingham P ...

for the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

covered 90,000 miles and visited 72

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

nations and territories from

Birmingham Airport Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Bor ...

. The journey began at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

on 7 October 2021 and ended in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

during the opening ceremony on 28 July 2022. This relay marked the last time under

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

prior to her death on 8 September 2022.

Organisation

The Relay was organised by the

Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games The Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games (BOCCG) is the organisation responsible for overseeing the planning and development of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. It was jointly established by the UK Government's Department for ...

, a private company based at One Brindleyplace. The 14-strong board of directors includes Dame Louise Martin, Ellie Simmonds, OBE,

Nick Timothy Nicholas James Timothy (born March 1980) is a British politician and former special adviser who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for West Suffolk since 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he previously served as joint Downing ...

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 Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

strand along its length to commemorate the

Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration in 2022 marking the Platinum jubilee, 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was the first time that any History of monarchy in the U ...

in 2022. Made using the traditional method of

lost-wax casting Lost-wax castingalso called investment casting, precision casting, or ''cire perdue'' (; borrowed from French)is the process by which a duplicate sculpture (often a metal, such as silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is cast from an original scul ...

, apart from the platinum the baton has purposely been made from non-precious metals and alloys:

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

and

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

to represent the

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

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

The Americas

Asia

Oceania

Europe

England National route

2022 Commonwealth Games Hull Baton Relay 2

The baton is due to travel around

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from 2–6 June 2022 and the rest of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during July.

References

{{reflist Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II 2022 Commonwealth Games Queen's baton relays