The XVII Commonwealth Games

Item Entered: Tuesday, March 23, 2004

"To draw closer the ties between the nations of the empire" - These hopeful words spoken by a young Yorkshireman, J. Astley Cooper in 1891 have long been the vision of the Commonwealth Games. For years later, sports enthusiasts throughout the British Empire laboured to promote a modern sport spectacle, however it wasn't until the late 1920s when that dream came to fruition.

Known to many as the founder of the British Empire Games, M.M. (Bobby) Robinson, a sports reporter for The Spectator in Hamilton, Canada travelled to Amsterdam for the 1928 Olympic Games. As manager of the Canadian track and field team, Robinson petitioned for a proposal to host the first British Empire Games in Canada. Thus, history was made in 1930, when 400 athletes from 11 countries united in Hamilton to compete in the journey to excellence, which would eventually be recognized as the Commonwealth Games in 1978.

A tradition was established in 1958, when the first baton was created for the Games in Cardiff, Wales. Every four years thereafter, the host country designs a Baton, carrying a message from The Queen to be read aloud at the Opening Ceremony.

International relay

The Baton for Manchester 2002 marks the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen, and commenced its journey on Commonwealth Day, March 11th, 2002 from Buckingham Palace, before departing for Canada, the first stop on the international relay.

"We are honoured to be the first country to receive the Baton, which is as much a part of the Commonwealth Games tradition as the Torch is part of the Olympics tradition," said Commonwealth Games Canada president, Joan Duncan. "Canada will be sending a team of over 400 to the Games in Manchester and The Queen's Jubilee Baton Relay is the beginning of our celebration of Team Canada athletes, coaches and volunteers."

Schenker of Canada was the official service provider of freight forwarding, customs and on-site handling services for Commonwealth Games Canada, as well as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). "On behalf of Schenker, we are very proud to be associated with Manchester 2002, and to support Team Canada at home and at the Games, through a collaborative effort with Schenker Manchester," said Robert A. Elek, senior vice president, Schenker of Canada.

The Games have always been open to every country in the Commonwealth and the spirit of friendship has inspired what is known as the "Friendly Games". The Baton consequently travelled across all six regions of the Commonwealth, visiting 23 countries over 87 days, from the largest country per square mile in the Commonwealth, Canada to the smallest, Malta.

The Baton returned to the UK on June 6, 2002 for the start of a 50-day event before completing its journey on July 25 in the City of Manchester Stadium at the Opening Ceremony of the XVII Commonwealth Games. The most significant multi-sport event to be held in the UK since the 1948 Olympics, it was the largest ever Commonwealth Games with approximately 5,250 athletes from 72 nations competing in 14 individual sports and three team sports from July 25 - August 4, 2002.