The Queen’s Baton Relay arrived in Nigeria on Friday as part of its tour of Africa in preparation for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The Queen’s Baton Relay began with a special event at Buckingham Palace in London, which was staged in conjunction with the city’s Commonwealth Day celebrations.
A delegation from the United Kingdom in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, and Commonwealth Games Nigeria received the Queen’s Baton, which resembles the Olympic torch.
Nigeria is the third African country to receive the Queen’s Baton, which will next travel to 15 more African countries before heading to Asia.
The Gambia (October 16), Sierra Leone (October 23), Ghana (October 26), Cameroon (October 29), Kenya (November 2), Uganda (November 5), Rwanda (November 10), Tanzania (November 13), Malawi (November 17), and Zambia (November 20) are among the other 15 African countries.
Mozambique (November 23), Mauritius (November 27), Botswana (November 30), St. Helena (December 5), South Africa (December 8), Namibia (December 14), Eswatini (December 17), Lesotho (December 20), and Seychelles (December 23) are also on the list.
The Queen’s Baton will travel for 294 days, visiting all 72 countries and territories and linking communities across the Commonwealth.
The final relay runner hands the baton back to the Queen or her delegate, who reads the message aloud to officially open the Games, which will be held in Birmingham, UK, beginning July 28, 2022. On August 8, 2022, they will close.
Ada Peter
