Queen’s Baton Relay delegation will make T&T it’s first Caribbean stop and nineteenth out of 71 overall Commonwealth destinations on the way to Australia’s Gold Coast for the 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018).
Set to arrive on Sunday, the Baton Relay will make its way through the capital city Port of Spain on Monday and through Tobago the day after that.
Using the occasion of the Queen’s Baton Relay launch at T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) House on Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, T&T Commonwealth Games Association (TTCGA) president, Brian Lewis sent a message of solidarity with the City of Manchester, which hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games and also where a suicide bombing took place on Monday at a concert by pop artiste Ariana Grande.
“In the context of the Baton Relay visit to T&T, it was our intention to highlight and focus not only on the history of T&T and team TTO’s participation in the Commonwealth Games but to focus on the youth and young people,” said Lewis.
“The fact that we are hosting the baton on the back of such a horrific and barbaric act highlights the challenges that we face as a movement not only here in T&T and around the world. The TTCGA expresses its deepest condolences to the people and the youth of Manchester City and the Commonwealth family.”
TTCGA Chef de Mission, Diane Henderson said the Queen’s Baton Relay is something that everyone should be a part of and encouraged citizens to come out to the routes for a chance to see the baton, join in the festivities and cheer on the baton bearers.
The Queen’s Baton will spend four days in T&T embracing the local culture and traditions. The TTCGA hopes to share T&T’s historic landmarks such as the Magnificent Seven, Queen’s Park Savannah, the Botanical Gardens and the Pigeon Point Heritage Park.