Queen's Baton 2010 Delhi Commences its Journey to the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010

Queen's Baton 2010 Delhi Commences its Journey to the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010
The official launch of the Queen's Baton Relay 2010 Delhi took place at Buckingham Palace, London when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II handed over the baton to Dr Pratibha Patil, President of India. The handover marks the start of the relay and the count down to the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi.


The hand crafted, Queen's Baton 2010 Delhi with integrated digital and video camera and GPS. The baton contains a precious jewelry box in which Her Majesty The Queen placed Her message to the athletes inscribed on an 18-carat gold leaf. The baton will arrive in the British Virgin Islands on March 22, 2010.

Atheltes, including Olympic gold medalists, Abhinav Bindra and Lord Sebastian Coe, received the baton and ran three laps around The Victoria Memorial, The Mall. The group of athletes was the first of thousands of Batonbearers who will carry the baton on its epic journey across the globe as it visits seventy of the Commonwealth countries. The Queen's Baton 2010 Delhi will arrive in the British Virgin Islands on March 22, 2010.Commenting on the BVI's role in hosting the Queen's Baton Relay 2010 Delhi, Mark Chapman, Chef de Mission for the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi, said : "The BVI will be the forty first country of the seventy one to be visited. We look forward to hosting an array of activities to welcome and celebrate the arrival of the baton and the accompanying international crew."The BVI leg of the Queen's Baton Relay 2010 Delhi has the potential to be watched by millions of people from all over the world, thanks to the baton's interactive web based technologies and the media attention it is expected to generate. Our involvement in this exciting event provides the entire community with the opportunity to highlight and promote the BVI to the rest of the world."The Queen's Baton 2010 Delhi is a high-tech baton that includes an integrated digital camera and Global Positioning System (GPS). The baton contains the Queen's message to the athletes of the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi.The Queen's Baton Relay symbolises the harmony and shared ideals of the Commonwealth of Nations. It has been an inclusion in the games program since the Cardiff 1958 Commonwealth Games in Wales. The Queen's Baton Relay 2010 Delhi will be one of the longest relays in history traveling 118,060 miles over a 240-day period. The baton will then continue its journey throughout India for another 100 days, making its way to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the Opening Ceremony of the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi on October 3, 2010. During the ceremony, the final Batonbearer will hand the baton back to Her Majesty, or Her representative. The message, which is engraved onto a miniature 18-carat gold leaf designed in the shape of the Indian pathra leaf, will be read out to the athletes. This will mark the official opening the Games.Mike Fennell, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation said "In the wake of recent global events, the relay extends an important message of hope and community to the broader Commonwealth family."The international sector for the Queen‟s Baton Relay 2010 Delhi is a joint initiative of the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi in partnership with the Commonwealth Games Federation and locally with the BVI Olympic Committee.