The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games has unveiled the highly-anticipated route that the Queen’s Baton Relay will take through England this summer, including a number of spots in the West Midlands. Travelling via land, air and sea, more than 180 communities in England will be able to witness the Queen’s Baton on a route spanning 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometres).
The Queen’s Baton Relay is set to travel the length and breadth of England for a total of 29 days, before arriving at the opening ceremony for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on July 28. From energetic cities and historic market towns, to rolling countryside and rugged coastline, the baton will head as far south as Cornwall and as far north as Northumberland.
After an international journey and touring the home nations, starting in London on June 2, coinciding with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the Queen’s Baton Relay will travel by coracle, barge and on a steam engine around the West Midlands ahead of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. The baton will reach the region on July 18, with highlights including a visit to the Severn Valley Railway and arriving by helicopter in Shrewsbury, and will end at Birmingham’s Aston Hall on the day of the opening ceremony (July 28).
Thousands of batonbearers, each with inspiring backgrounds and stories, will have the honour of carrying the baton during the journey through England, including those nominated in recognition of their contributions to their local community, whether that be in sport, education, the arts, culture or charity. Between 40 and 130 batonbearers will carry the baton each day, and the relay will reach hundreds of villages, towns and cities during its tour of the country.
The final countdown to the opening ceremony will see the baton spend 11 days travelling through the host region of the West Midlands, visiting:
- Monday 18 July – Liverpool, Keele, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent and Shrewsbury
- Tuesday 19 July – Ironbridge, Telford, Newport, Lilleshall, Stafford, Stone, Rudyard and Leek
- Wednesday 20 July – Uttoxeter, Burton upon Trent, Lichfield, Burntwood, Chasewater and Tamworth
- Thursday 21 July – Bodymoor Heath, Atherstone, Market Bosworth, Nuneaton, Bedworth, Rugby and Coventry
- Friday 22 July – Kenilworth, Whitnash, Warwick, Gaydon, Stratford-upon-Avon, Broadway, Pershore, Upton-upon-Severn, Malvern and Worcester
- Saturday 23 July – Redditch, Bromsgrove, Kidderminster, Bridgnorth, Codsall, Rugeley, Hednesford, Cannock and Walsall
- Sunday 24 July – Wolverhampton, Halesowen, Stourbridge, Dudley Brierley Hill
- Monday 25 July – Oldbury, Wednesbury, Tipton, Cradley Heath, Rowley Regis, Blackheath, Bearwood, Smethwick and West Bromwich
- Tuesday 26 July – Castle Bromwich, Fordbridge, Chelmsley Wood, Marston Green, Hampton in Arden, Meriden, Berkswell, Balsall Common, Knowle, Dorridge, Cheswick Green, Hockley Heath, Dickens Heath, Shirley and Solihull
- Wednesday 27 & Thursday 28 July – Birmingham (full route through the host city to be announced)
Birmingham2022 also recently revealed the medals for the Commonwealth Games, which are designed by local students and manufactured in the Jewellery Quarter, with the medal design being inspired by the roads and canals that link the city of Birmingham and the West Midlands region.
Find out more about the Commonwealth Games 2022 and the Queen’s Baton Relay here.