By Duncan Mackay

Glasgow 2014 Queens Baton Relay launch March 11 2013March 11 - The Queen's Baton Relay for next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will travel nearly 120,000 miles around the world, covering 71 countries and territories in 248 days, before arriving in Scotland in time for the Opening Ceremony on July 23, it was announced today.


The Baton will visit all the members that make up the Commonwealth, including, for the first time, Rwanda, during its 118,060 miles (190,000 kilometres) journey. 

The Baton, which will be created especially for Glasgow 2014 and unveiled later this year, is due to begin its journey on October 9 at Buckingham Palace in London when the Queen will place her message to the Commonwealth into the baton.  

The final relay runner traditionally hands the baton back to the Queen or her representative at the Games and the message is read aloud at the Opening Ceremony.

From Buckingham Palace, the baton will travel to Glasgow and begin its journey.

The first stop of the journey will be to Delhi, host city of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

It will then travel sequentially through Asia, Oceania, Africa, South America, the Caribbean and North America before returning to Europe and the Home Nations and then into Scotland.

The baton will average one to four days in each nation with an extended duration of seven days in Wales, 14 in England and 40 in Scotland, where it will visit communities across the country before arriving at its final destination, Celtic Park, where the Opening Ceremony is due to be held. 

Exotic landing spots for the baton are set to include Nauru, the smallest island on the route, and St Helena, following a unique four day crossing from South Africa on the RMS St Helena.

"For Scotland and Glasgow the Queen's Baton Relay creates an unparalleled chance to put both city and nation into the international spotlight, creating valuable economic, cultural, and educational opportunities for and beyond the Games," said Lord Smith, the chairman of Glasgow 2014.

"It is a truly unique cross-continental relay which offers chances for trade and investment opportunities overseas and which connects Glasgow and Scotland to the Commonwealth, and invites the Commonwealth back here.

"It is our opportunity to be on a global stage, sharing our messages of goodwill, opportunity and potential the baton - and the Games themselves - hope to bring to the Commonwealth.

"The last lap of this global journey brings the Baton back home to touch every community in Scotland as the baton journeys to its final destination."

Queens Baton Relay graphicThe Queen's Baton Relay will leave Buckingham Palace in London on October 9 and arrive back in Scotland next June

The Baton's route was unveiled for the first time in an interactive celebration in Glasgow's iconic new Emirates Arena - a major venue for the Games - where a film of the planned journey, narrated by Hobbit star Billy Boyd, was shown.

"Narrating this film was a great way for me to get involved in the Glasgow 2014 Games," said Boyd.

"I am really excited about the Games coming to my home city next year."

Shona Robison, the Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport, claimed that the Queen's Baton Relay will help raise the profile of Scotland in the run-up to the Games.

"The Queen's Baton Relay puts Glasgow and Scotland on a world stage, inviting international athletes of the Commonwealth to come to Glasgow to compete," she said. 

"The Queen's Baton Relay is a thread linking Scotland to valuable economic, cultural, and educational links with other countries before the Games – links we hope to build on during the Games and in the years to come.

"By visiting every nation and territory who will send a team, the Queen's Baton Relay is a great example of why the Commonwealth Games are known as the 'Friendly Games' and we are sure that Glasgow 2014 can be the friendliest yet."

For full details of the international route of the Queen's Baton Relay pdfclick here.

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