Queen’s Baton arrives in Sri Lanka

The Queens Baton flanked by the Executive Committee of the CGA upon its arrival at the BIA

The Queen’s Baton – the forerunner to the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games – was welcomed in Sri Lanka at the Bandaranaike International Airport yesterday, making it the 25th of its destinations. 

The Baton will travel to selected locations in the country until its departure on 6 January. 

On 7 October 2021, at a special event at Buckingham Palace, Her Majesty The Queen placed her message to the Commonwealth into the Baton, signifying the start of a 294-day relay through the 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth. 

Associated at the welcoming ceremony were the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Namal Rajapaksa, British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Sarah Hulton OBE, Secretary Ministry of Youth and Sports Anuradha Wijekoon, Department of Sports Development Director General Amal Edirisooriya, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Creative Queen’s Baton Relay Content Coordinator Annie Benton, CGA Sri Lanka President Suresh Subramaniam and CGA Sri Lanka Secretary General Maxwell de Silva.  

Upon its arrival the Baton was brought in procession to the CGA Headquarters at Independent Square and the day’s activities culminated with a reception at the British High Commission.  

Tomorrow the Torch will make its presence in Kandy where there would be a ceremony at the Victoria Dam which incidentally was a project funded by the United Kingdom in 1978, under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and was completed during the time of President Junius Richard Jayewardene and was ceremonially opened by the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher and was opened on 14 April 1985. Then in the evening session the Baton will be on show at the Ranabima Royal College where an educational program courtesy the British Council of Sri Lanka will be held.   On 5 January the action will shift to Hatton where a ceremony will be held at the Kirkoswald Tea Estate.   Upon its return to the capital city, the torch will make a visit to the School of the Deaf and Blind at Ratmalana before joining hands with the Ministry of sports for some sports-related activities. 

The QBR celebrations will wind up with a visit to the official residence of the Sri Lankan Prime Minister before making its departure to Bangladesh.