ABOUT THE BATON
For the first time ever, every Commonwealth nation and territory will receive their own Baton for their celebrations and have been asked to customise and decorate this Baton to represent their culture.
All 74 Batons will be reunited at the Opening Ceremony of Glasgow 2026, where the Scotland Baton will be presented to His Majesty and the message read aloud to declare the Games open.
Inspired by the three CGF values - Humanity, Equality, Destiny - three interlocking pieces of sustainably sourced ash (a hardwood from Scotland) come together to create the Baton’s form. The negative spaces where the three pieces come together are a strong design feature – representing Commonwealth connections.
In a break with recent tradition and like the first ever Queen’s Baton Relay in Cardiff in 1958, the Baton takes more of a traditional baton shape. It is simple and sustainable – with no complex electronics or chambers, and is a blank canvas, enabling the final design of each Baton to be crafted by the nation or territory it belongs to.
BATON SHAPE AND FORM
The Baton stands at around 470mm high and each face around 70mm wide.
Each end is tapered to allow two people to hold the Baton at the same time, creating moments of connection throughout the King’s Baton Relay and across the Commonwealth.
This will be one of the lightest Batons ever created at around 800 grams, creating a more accessible Baton for the King’s Baton Relay.
THE KING’S MESSAGE CHAMBER
The final baton - for Scotland - will contain a chamber for the King’s Message. The King placed His Message into the Baton on 10th March 2025 when he launched the King’s Baton Relay at Buckingham Palace. This Baton contains a cork chamber closure, emblazoned with a Saltire of wood, which will keep The Message safe and hidden until it is retrieved in July 2026.
Each of the other Batons has one single word from The King’s Message engraved onto it, taking the message far and wide across the Commonwealth until the full message is reunited at the Opening Ceremony for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
WHO DESIGNED AND MADE THE BATON?
The Baton has been specially designed, engineered and handmade in Glasgow by skilled makers from a social enterprise named Galgael and master craftsman Tim Norman. The Baton design celebrates the beauty of local natural, sustainable materials and creates a beautiful blank canvas for customisation.
