King'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 Palace in London, where the King entrusts the baton to the first relay runner. At the opening ceremony of the Games, the final relay runner hands the torch back to the King or his representative, who reads the message aloud to officially open the Games. The King's Baton Relay is similar to the Olympic Torch Relay.
Started as the Queen's Baton Relay for the 1958 Games, the relay has been included in every games ever since. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, King Charles III became the Head of the Commonwealth, leading to the relay being renamed as the King's Baton Relay for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
History
At the inaugural games, held in 1930 in Hamilton, Ontario, a message from King George V was read to the competitors. In 1936, Australian runner Rowley Bateman proposed a relay from Canberra to Sydney carrying a goodwill message for the 1938 Sydney games. A baton relay from Mountain Ash to Pontypridd to commemorate the centenary of the Welsh national anthem was organised in 1956 by athletics official Bernard Baldwin, who proposed something similar for the finale of the Commonwealth Games. Baldwin later founded the traditional New Year's Eve race 'Nos Galan' in Mountain Ash.The Relay has been involved in every games since the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales. The Relay for the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was the first to incorporate a more expansive relay to other nations of the Commonwealth. The 2002 Commonwealth Games Relay covered over and went through 23 nations.
Rather than beginning at Buckingham Palace, the 1970 relay began in at Yellowknife in Canada's Northwest Territories before the baton was flown to Scotland.
Editions
| Year | Relay | Description | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1958 | Queen's Baton Relay
for the VI British Empire and Commonwealth Games  convert|40|cm|in|abbr=onconvert|4|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=onFinal Baton Runners
|