JAMAICA IS scheduled to be the third stop of the Queen's Jubilee Baton Relay, which will travel to 21 Commonwealth countries to commemorate next year's Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England from July 25 to August 4.
The baton, departs Buckingham Place on Commonwealth Day, March 11, 2002, will arrive in Jamaica on March 18 from Ottawa, Canada. After two days in Jamaica, the baton moves to Dominica, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Australia; New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Brunei, Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India and Malta.
Announcing details of the international relay in the United Kingdom (UK) recently, Commonwealth Games Federation Chairman, Michael Fennell said the baton would carry the Queen's message to commonwealth countries in the six regions of the world - Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas, Europe, Oceania, and Asia.
As the baton reaches the respective countries, a range of cultural activities are expected to be held to commemorate the Queen's Golden Jubilee.
"The baton relay symbolises the unique capacity of sport and the human spirit to embrace diverse geographic, cultural, religious and political systems," Mr. Fennell said.
The Queen's baton relay, the equivalent of the Olympic Torch run, is one of the great traditions of the Commonwealth Games. It was renamed the Queen's Jubilee Baton Relay in recognition of next year's celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the Head of the Commonwealth, Her Majesty The Queen.
