Commonwealth Baton Relay coming to town
FORRES folk will have the chance to see the Queen’s Baton as it passes through the town on Thursday, July 3.
17 local sportspeople and volunteers will carry it on the local leg of the home stretch of its tour around 70 nations and territories, ahead of the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on July 23.
“It’s great news for Moray,” said Moray Council sports development officer, Kim Patterson.
“The baton will travel through all of the communities in the area allowing as many people as possible to see it.
“Every bearer has done something outstanding in their own town or further afield.”
The baton will pass through Kinloss from 3.45pm via the Army Barracks along the B9089 and onto the B9011, finishing after Kinloss Caravan Park. It will be carried by Leslie Pearson, James Hanton, Michael Rodgers, Pete Bavidge, and Kim Neill.
Forres bearers will take the baton at 5.10pm. They are Ashleigh Dean, Cameron Chase, Alasdair Maclennan, Peter Robertson, Graeme Ferguson, Daniel Breerton, Surya Morton, Angus Farr, Grant McPherson, Catriona Anderson, Erin Smith and Catriona Anderson. Their route will be Victoria Road, along the High Street onto Nairn Road, finishing just after the BP Petrol Station.
The bearers were selected for: making a positive contribution to the lives of others through community sport; undertaking voluntary work or contributing to schools or youth organisations; contributing to greater inclusion for disadvantaged or marginalised sectors of the community; being a role model or mentor for youth through sport; displaying a level of individual achievement against the odds; or making a significant contribution to their local community.
The Queen’s Relay was launched last October at Buckingham Palace, during a ceremony when Her Majesty The Queen placed a message to the Commonwealth into the baton.
From Sydney Harbour Bridge to the forests of Rwanda; from Pacific Islands to the Rocky Mountains of Canada, the baton has showcased each nation and territory in the Commonwealth.
On July 23 it will have spend 40 days travelling around Scotland in the hands of 4,000 baton bearers before it is handed back to the Queen, or her representative, at the Games. By that stage it will have covered 190,000km in 288 days.
The message inside will then be read out as part of the official opening of Glasgow 2014.
To follow the baton visit www.glasgow2014.com/batonrelay or visit Twitter at @Batonrelay2014.
Forres Big Choir are singing at Cooper Park, Elgin at 7.15pm on Thursday, July 3 as part of the ‘Big Song Relay’.
The Big Song Relay is the “musical leg” of the Queen’s Baton Relay, a nationwide project that brings together choirs from all over the country to sing specially commissioned song ‘All Our Common Wealth’ to welcome the baton on each stop on its route.
BBC Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year Robyn Stapleton, helped Hands Up for Trad launch The Big Song Relay, which will see choirs across Scotland pass the song as they line the route as part of the “Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme”.
The aim is to have 40 performances from 40 different choirs to greet the baton carriers in the weeks leading up to the Commonwealth Games.
There will also be performances at Buckie Harbour at 8.45am by Buckie and District Community Choir, then Joyful Noise will sing at Milnes Primary School at 11am.