Glasgow 2014

[Scotguy 330]

The 2014 Queens Baton will be unveiled on Friday evening:

The Glasgow 2014 Queen’s #BatonRelay is the curtain-raiser to the XX Commonwealth Games. On its journey around the Commonwealth the baton will visit 71 nations and territories, cover 190,000 kilometres and involve a third of the world’s population, making it the world’s most engaging relay.

We’re very excited to announce that the baton for the Glasgow 2014 Queen’s Baton Relay will be unveiled on Friday evening. What will it look like? Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages for clues throughout the week!

Take a look at some more amazing images from the Delhi 2010 and Melbourne 2006 Relays: http://g2014.is/16FNxU2 — Queen's #BatonRelay: Photo gallery!

[Ikarus360 605]

^^ About time. Can't wait to see what they come with. I really liked Melbourne and Delhi's batons.

[Alexjc 354]

Problem is with the baton leaving so soon these days...It makes the games feel so far away, in this case more so as 2010 was so dissapointing after the long awaited buildup to them.

Glasgow 2014 has been so looked forward to for the last three years...

[runningrings 678]

I agree. The QBR needs to keep it smart and simple. Perhaps less of this diluted "all Commonwealth" stuff and just have a collection of particular countries and previous hosts each time. I'm not sure the people of Sierra Leone are going to loose sleep over not having the baton.

[Scotguy 330]

I think this should also be the case for the Olympic Torch, it should only visit the previous hosts and host city. Keep the Olympic connection with the past hosts alive.

[Ikarus360 605]

^^ Yeah but that was Beijing's mistake of continuing the idea that Athens did (back then it was acceptable since it was the return of the Olympics to their homeland and all of that). Thankfully, London discontinued that and kept it simple with a national relay.

And I agree that the QBR is way too massive and should be simplified a bit more. Kinda takes away the excitement if you ask me.

[yoshi 353]

When's the stick setting off?

[Scotguy 330]

It will leave Buckingham Palace on 9th October with India its first stop.

Here is a video about the making of the Baton - to be unveiled tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSn8_o7u76E&feature=share&list=UUPb-n1WVQ8iDAWnNzX2enHA

[intoronto 650]

It will leave Buckingham Palace on 9th October with India its first stop.

Here is a video about the making of the Baton - to be unveiled tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSn8_o7u76E&feature=share&list=UUPb-n1WVQ8iDAWnNzX2enHA

Is it tradition to go to the previous host first?

[runningrings 678]

^^ Yeah but that was Beijing's mistake of continuing the idea that Athens did (back then it was acceptable since it was the return of the Olympics to their homeland and all of that). Thankfully, London discontinued that and kept it simple with a national relay.

And I agree that the QBR is way too massive and should be simplified a bit more. Kinda takes away the excitement if you ask me.

I agree with how London did it - although I think it would be quite nice for Rio 2016 to send its torch around all of South or Latin America.

Although it would be quite tricky, it would be quite impressive to see the 2016 torch fly direct from Athens to Mexico City - host city of the last Latin American Olympics - and then head south from Mexico to as many countries as possible in Central and South America - before doing as much of Brazil itself before centering on Rio itself.

(sorry I know that this is completely offtopic)

[yoshi 353]

It's going to have some link to the numbers in the logo surely? The 20, 16, 10, 1.

[illustrado 75]

here it is guys the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games queen's baton

I love the wood element in it. the criss cross effect make me think of london 2012 though.

more details to follow

here's how and who named it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSn8_o7u76E&feature=share&list=UUPb-n1WVQ8iDAWnNzX2enHA

[Ikarus360 605]

Hmmm. Looks like a return to the old school Queen Batons. It also looks like a shoot out of Edinburgh's baton in 1986. Not bad, actually.

Btw the website seems to have crashed. Maybe they're adding the info of the Baton right now.

Oh, also the shape reminds me a bit of Manchester 2002. I also noticed on the video which was posted yesterday they focused a lot on the 2002 baton, so maybe that one was the main inspiration for this.

[illustrado 75]

got in the website. here's the brief.

The baton embodies Glasgow and Scotland’s culture, history and innovation in its design and construction.

At the heart of the baton is the Queen’s Message, inscribed on a parchment handmade in Glasgow using linen and plant fibre. The message will be scrolled and held in a transparent cylinder within a pure titanium latticework frame. For the first time, the message forms the visual core of the baton design – illuminated from within by LED lights, yet unreadable until the Opening Ceremony.

The lattice frame takes inspiration from Glasgow’s rich industrial and architectural heritage. State-of-the-art Direct Metal laser sintering was used to create its striking organic form, fusing together layers of pure titanium powder three hundredths of a millimetre thick with a focused laser beam.

The baton’s handle is made of elm wood sourced from the grounds of Garrison House on the Isle of Cumbrae – a tribute to Scotland’s natural resources. It was constructed using a boatbuilding technique called bird-mouthing, traditionally used to make masts for ships. Light, strong and durable, the handle was created by craftsmen at Galgael, a social enterprise that teaches traditional skills.

The baton contains a granite ‘gemstone’ which will be gifted to each nation and territory. Housed at the very top of the baton, it is released only by opening a clever puzzle mechanism. The gemstones, made of granite unique to Scotland, were sourced from Ailsa Craig in the firth of Clyde, crafted by Kays of Scotland, and embellished by jewellers from Glasgow School of Art.

[Ikarus360 605]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-23681810 Glasgow 2014: Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton design unveiled

The top of the baton contains a granite 'gemstone' which will be given as gift

Continue reading the main story

Glasgow 2014

• One year to go to Games
• VisitScotland in Glasgow 2014 push
• Cultural countdown for Games
• Mixed findings in legacy survey

The baton which will visit all 71 competing nations and territories ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year has been unveiled.

Glasgow-based firm 4c Design won the tender to create the Queen's Baton, which is similar to the Olympic torch.

However, only one baton is made, containing the Queen's hand-written message to the Commonwealth.

The 288-day relay, covering 118,000 miles, gets under way on 9 October at Buckingham Palace.

The Queen will place her message inside the baton, which makes its first international port-of-call in India on 11 October.

It will then make its journey from Delhi - which was the host of the 2010 Games - through all the nations and territories which are sending teams to the games.

This will include the big Commonwealth countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, South Africa, Malaysia, Australia, Kenya, Ghana, Jamaica and Canada.

Some of the smaller destinations include Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, St Kitts and Nevis and the Falklands Islands.

The baton will also travel to Tuvalu and Nauru, which both struggle to have populations of 10,000 people.

The relay arrives back in the UK in May next year, visiting Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Wales and England before a 40-day tour of Scotland in the run-up to the start of the games on 23 July 2014.

The final relay runner hands the baton, which contains the sealed, hand-written scroll, back to the Queen at the opening ceremony.

The Queen then reads aloud the hidden message and officially declares the Games open.

Continue reading the main story

• Glasgow 2014: Queen's Baton Relay route

The designers said the message from the Queen was pivotal to the baton design and they were keen it should not be "hidden away".

The baton has a lattice design, made from layers of titanium fused together by laser, which means the message is visible.

The parchment, handmade in Glasgow using linen and plant fibre, is also "dramatically" illuminated by LED lights within a transparent cylinder to make the sealed scroll easier to see.

The brief for designers stated that the baton should be easily handed from person to person, should weigh no more than 2kg and must be able to withstand all weathers for the 10-month relay.

The baton's handle is made of elm wood sourced from the grounds of Garrison House on the Isle of Cumbrae and was constructed using a boatbuilding technique called bird-mouthing, which means it is light, strong and durable.

The top of the baton contains a granite "gemstone" which will be detached by opening a puzzle mechanism and given as gift to each nation and territory.

The gems are made of water-resistant granite unique to Scotland and were sourced from Ailsa Craig in the Firth of Clyde.

Chris Brasher, Roger Bannister and Chris Chataway took part in the first baton relay in 1958

Glasgow 2014 will be the 20th Commonwealth Games and will feature 17 sports in 11 days of competition, with 261 medal events.

A million tickets will be on offer for the Games, which will play host to 4,500 athletes. The event will be aided by an army of 15,000 volunteers.

The Commonwealth of Nations has 54 members, but 71 teams participate in the Commonwealth Games because a number of British overseas territories, Crown dependencies and island states compete under their own flag.

The UK nations - Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland - compete separately in the Commonwealth Games, as do the smaller home territories such as Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

The first Queen's Baton Relay was staged for the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff and has been the curtain raiser to the Games ever since.

But until 1998, the relay would only travel through England and the host nation.

Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

Glasgow 2014's Queen's Baton is not only an incredibly stylish object, but is an example of cutting-edge, contemporary Scottish design that tells so many stories about our nation”

Lord Smith of KelvinGlasgow 2014 chairman

By 2002, in Manchester, it was covering 100,000km and visiting 23 nations.

Melbourne 2006 was the first baton relay to visit all 71 nations which sent teams to the Games.

The new baton was formally presented to Lord Smith of Kelvin, chairman of Glasgow 2014, by Olympic gold medallist Allan Wells at Glasgow's Riverside Museum.

The Scottish sprinter, who was recently unveiled as a games ambassador, will be one of the first people to carry the baton after it leaves Buckingham Palace.

Lord Smith of Kelvin said: "The Queen's Baton Relay is a great tradition of the Commonwealth Games and a wonderful opportunity for Glasgow and Scotland to share our culture and heritage with the citizens of the Commonwealth.

"Glasgow 2014's Queen's Baton is not only an incredibly stylish object, but is an example of cutting-edge, contemporary Scottish design that tells so many stories about our nation.

"It is a symbol of our friendship and the warm welcome that awaits the Commonwealth family here next year."

The baton's journey around the globe will be documented by adventurer and broadcaster Mark Beaumont for the BBC.

[The Tower Bridge Fox 48]

Nice!!!!!

[illustrado 75]

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[Ikarus360 605]

[illustrado 75]

will they show a cheat to open the puzzle top

[yoshi 353]

That is one lovely looking stick, would make a great Olympic torch.

I don't know anything about batons pre-02, any pics?

[gotosy 493]

very nice!

[Sir Rols 1902]

It's lovely. Well done Glasgow.

[Rob. 2047]

Reminds me of Athens' torch

[Scotguy 330]

A really nice Baton, modern yet traditional, and you can see Glasgow in it, the cranes, the boat building, the steel of the shipyards that made the city famous.

A very good job well done.

[Alexjc 354]

A very beautiful piece of art...Oh and simplistic in design. Sign of things to come, making a point of NOT outdoing the previous host but going it's own way. It did get silly after KL98.

Although it's gonna take nearly a year, the international relay looks interesting. A visit to the Falkland Islands is a reminding gesture to others that the Commonwealth has a long reach.

Yes the Baton looks good...and now the long wait begins.