Rwanda to host the Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay

Rwanda will host the Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay from the 9^th to the 12^th of November 2021 to celebrate and connect communities from across the Commonwealth and it will be the tenth destination after Uganda.

This Relay is being held around the world prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games that will take place in Birmingham 2022 and since its inaugural appearance at the Cardiff 1958 Commonwealth Games, the Queen’s Baton Relay has been a tradition.

For its third time in Rwanda since 2014, the Queen’s Baton will tour the Kigali Genocide Memorial and Campaign against Genocide Museum, Nyandungu Urban Wetland Ecotourism Park, Lycée de Kigali, Gahanga Cricket Stadium and Kigali City.The Queen’s Baton will be carried by the captains of national teams and it will be an opportunity to showcase untold stories from Batonbearers, athletes, and young people who are striving for change in their community.

“I am absolutely delighted to see the Queen’s Baton in Rwanda ahead of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games next year. The unity that this relay represents brings together communities across the globe. Inclusion is at the heart of these Games, as Birmingham 2022 will have the biggest ever sports programme, with the largest integrated Para Sport programme in history. The Relay underlines our shared Commonwealth values ahead of Rwanda hosting CHOGM in 2022, and to highlight the importance of the environment as the COP26 meetings are happening in Glasgow.  H. E. Omar Daair, British High Commissioner to Rwanda.

The Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay started at Buckingham Palace on 7 October 2021, when Her Majesty The Queen placed Her Message to the Commonwealth into the Baton, which will be read at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games on July 28th 2022 in Birmingham, and passed it to four-time Paralympic gold medallist and Team England athlete Kadeena Cox, who had the honour of being the first of thousands of Batonbearers to carry the Baton.

“We are delighted and honoured to receive the Queen’s Baton for the third time in Rwanda. Receiving the Queen’s Baton during this period of the Covid-19 pandemic has a significant meaning as it symbolises hope, solidarity, and collaboration across our Commonwealth countries. It is also another opportunity to encourage our athletes who will compete to be the ambassadors of peace, unity, sustainable development and environment protection in their communities.” Theogene UWAYO, President of Rwanda Commonwealth Games Association.

The 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay is an epic journey covering the entirety of the Commonwealth as it will travel to all 72 nations and territories, covering a distance of 140,000 kilometres. For 269 days, the Baton will travel to Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean and the Americas, before it embarks on the final stretch of its journey across England for 25 days.

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You can find the press release in PDF format here

For more details contact us via emails below:
Rwanda CGA: [email protected].
British High Commission: [email protected]      

Find out more at www.birmingham2022.com/qbr

Full schedule of the Queen’s Baton Relay international route: